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Mr.  Stubbs's    Brother 

A  Sequel  to 

"Toby    Tyler" 


BY   JAMES    OTIS 

AUTHOR   OF 
"TIM    AND    TIP"    ETC. 


ILLUSTRATED 


NEW  YORK  AND  LONDON 
HARPER    &    BROTHERS    PUBLISHERS 


THE  LIBRARY 

UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA 
LOS  ANGELES 


HARPER'S  YOUNG  PEOPLE  SERIES 


SIXTY-CENT  EDITION 


FRAXCOXIA   STORIES 

BY  JACOB  ABBOTT 
Malleville  Stuyvesant 

Mary  BeU  Agnes         . 

Ellen  Linn  Mary  Erskme 

Wallace  Rodolphus 

Beechnut  Caroline 

Br  W.  L.  ALDEN 
The  Moral  Pirates 
The  Cruise  of  the  "Ghost" 
The  Cruise  of  the  Canoe  Club 
The  Adventures  of  Jimmy  Brown 
Jimmy  Brown  Trying  to  Find  Europe 
A  New  Robinson  Crusoe 

BY  JAMES   BARNES 
The  Blockaders 

BY  WILLIAM   BLACK 
The  Four  Macnicols 

BY  LEWIS  CARROLL 
Alice's  Adven  tures  in  Wonderland 
Through  the    Lookine-Glass 
The  Hunting  of  the  Snark 

BY  COL.    W.  F.  CODY 
The  Adventures  of  Buffalo  Bill 

Br  GEORGE  C.  EGGLBSTON 
Strange  Stories  from  History 
BY   JOHN  HABBERTON 
Who  Was  Paul  Grayson? 

BY  MRS.  W.  J.  HAYS 
Prince  Lazybones 
The  Princess  Idleways 

BY  GEORGE  A.  HENTY 
In  the  Hands  of  the  Cave-Dwellers 

BY  W.  J.  HENDERSON 
Sea  Yams  for  Boys 

BY  ERNEST  INGERSOLL 
fhe  Ice  Queen 

BY  DAVID  KER 
The  Lost  City 
Into   Unknown  Seas 

BY  LUCY  C.  LILLIB         » 
Mildred's  Bargain 
Nan 

Jo's  Opportunity 
Phil  and  the  Baby 
False  Witness 


Rolf  House 

Music  and  Musicians 

The  Colonel's  Money 

The  Household  of  Glen  Holly 

BY  LIVINGSTON  B.  MORSE 
The  Road  to  Nowhere 

BY  Miss  MULOCK 
The  Little  Lame  Prince 
The  Adventures  of  a  Brownie 
Little  Sunshine's  Holiday 
The  Cousin  from  India 
Twenty  Years  Ago 
Is  It  True? 
Miss  Moore 
An  Only  Sister 

BY  KIRK  MUNROB 
Wakulla 

The  Flamingo  Feather 
Derrick  Sterling 
Chrystal,  Jack  &  Co..  etc. 
BY  JAMES  OTIS 
Mr.  Stubbs's  Brother 
Tim  and  Tip 
Toby   Tyler,   or,  Ten  Weeks  with  a 

Circus 

Raising  the  "  Pearl " 
Sik-nt  Pete;  or,  the  Stowaways 
Left  Behind ;  or.  Ten  Days  a  Newsboy 

BY  G.  B.  PERRY 
Uncle   Peter's  Trust 

BY  L.  C.  PYRNELLE 
Diddie,  Dumps,  and  Tot 

BY  MARGARET  E.  SANGSTER 
Little  Knights  and  Ladies — Poems 

BY  W.  O.  STODDARD 
Two  Arrows 
The  Rerl  Mustang 
The  Talking  Leaves 

BY  SOPHIE  SWETT 
Captain   Polly 

STRANGE  STORIES  FROM 

HISTORY 

Strange  Stones  of  Colonial  Days 
Strange  Stories  of  the  Revolution 
Strange  Stories  of  i8ia 
Strange  Stories  of  the  Civil  War 


Illustrated.     Price,  per  roliime,  60  cents 


HARPER  &  BROTHERS,  PUBLISHERS,  NEW  YORK 


according  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  1882,  by 

HARPER  k  BROTHERS, 
In  the  Office  of  the  Librarian  of  Congress,  at  Washington 


M  rigktt  rttened. 


CONTENTS. 


OUA.PTER  PAGE 

I.    THE    SCHEME 9 

II.    THE    BLIND    HORSE 24 

III.    ABNER    BOLTON 45 

IT.    THE    PONT , 53 

T.    OLD    BEN 68 

VI.    THE  GREAT    EVENT 81 

VII.    ATTRACTIONS    FOR   THE    LITTLE    CIRCUS 95 

VIII.    THE    DINNER    PARTY 108 

IX.    MR.  STUBBS'S    BROTHER 126 

X.    THE    ACCIDENT 141 

XI.    CHANGE    OF  PLANS. 155 

XII.    A    REHEARSAL , 168 

XIII.  THE    RESULTS    OF   LONG    TRAINING 182 

XIV.  RAISING    THE    TENT 197 

XV.   STEALING   DUCKS 211 

XVI.    A   LOST   MONKEY 226 

XVII.    DRIVING    A    MONKEY 239 

XVIII.    COLLECTING    THE    ANIMALS 251 

XIX.    THE   SHOW    BROKE    UP. 266 

xx.  ABNER'S  DEATH 274 


2051216 


ILLUSTRATIONS. 


PAQK 

"  '  OH,  BEN  !'   WAS  ALL  TOBY  COULD  SAY  " Frontispiece 

PLANNING  THE   CIRCUS 15 

BEN    PRACTISING    IN    HIS    FATHER'S    BARN 25 

TRAINING   THE    OLD   BLIND   HORSE 41 

"  '  NOW    BE   ALL   READY   TO   RUN,'  HE   SAID  " 65 

THE     MANAGERS    OF    THE     CIRCUS     LOOKING     AT    THE    POSTERS    OF    THEIR 

RIVAL 71 

TOBY'S  MEETING  WITH  OLD  BEN 85 

MR.  AND  MRS.  TREAT  EXHIBIT  PRIVATELY 109 

UNCLE  DANIEL  RECEIVING  HIS  GUESTS 117 

MR.  STUBBS'S  BROTHER 137 

"  '  WHAT   IS  THE   MATTER  ?     HOW   DID  THIS   BOY   GET  HURT  ?'  ASKED 

BEN" 149 

"  MR.  STUBBS'S  BROTHER  WAS  BROUGHT  IN  " 161 

TOBY  AND  ABNER  ATTENDING  THE  REHEARSAL 175 

UNROLLING  THE  SCHOONER'S  SAH-S 193 

MR.  STUBBS'S  BROTHER  MISBEHAVES  HIMSELF 207 

SEARCHING  FOR  THE  BURGLAR 221 

THE  BOYS  INQUIRING  FOR  MR.  STUBBS'S  BROTHER 235 

MR.  STUBBS'S  BROTHER  AFTER  HIS  ENCOUNTER  WITH  THE  PORCUPINE....  249 

BOB  AND  THE  "  GRIZZLEE  BARE*' 257 

TOBY  RESCUES  THE  CROWING  HEN  FROM  MR.  STUBBS'S  BROTHER 269 

THE  DEATH  OF  ABNER 281 


IR.  STUBBS'S  BROTHER. 


CHAPTER  I. 

THE   SCHEME. 

"  WHY,  we  could  start  a  circus  jest  as  easy  as  a 
wink,  Toby,  'cause  you  know  all  about  one ;  an' 
all  you'd  have  to  do  would  be  to  tell  us  fellers 
what  to  do,  an'  we'd  'tend  to  the  rest." 

"  Yes ;  but  you  see  we  hain't  got  a  tent,  or 
bosses,  or  wagons,  or  nothin',  an'  I  don't  see  how 
you  could  get  a  circus  up  that  way;"  and  the 
speaker  hugged  his  knees  as  he  rocked  himself  to 
and  fro  in  a  musing  way  on  the  rather  sharp  point 
of  a  large  rock,  on  which  he  had  seated  himself  in 
order  to  hear  what  his  companion  had  to  say  that 
was  so  important. 


io  Mr.  Stubbss  Brotker. 

"  Will  you  come  down  with  me  to  Bob  At- 
wood's,  an'  see  what  he  says  about  it  ?" 

"  Yes,  I'll  do  that  if  you'll  come  out  afterwards 
for  a  game  of  I-spy  'round  the  meetin'-house." 

"All  right;  if  we  can  find  enough  of  the  other 
fellers,  I  will." 

Then  the  boys  slipped  down  from  the  rocks, 
found  the  cows,  and  drove  them  home  as  the 
preface  to  their  visit  to  Bob  Atwood's. 

The  boy  who  was  so  anxious  to  start  a  circus 
was  a  little  fellow  with  such  a  wonderful  amount 
of  remarkably  red  hair  that  he  was  seldom  call- 
ed anything  but  Reddy,  although  his  name  was 
known — by  his  parents,  at  least — to  be  Walter 
Grant.  His  companion  was  Toby  Tyler,  a  boy 
who,  a  year  before,  had  thought  it  would  be  a 
very  pleasant  thing  to  run  away  from  his  Uncle 
Daniel  and  the  town  of  Gruilford  in  order  to  be 
with  a  circus,  and  who,  in  ten  weeks,  was  only 
too  glad  to  run  back  home  as  rapidly  as  possible. 

During  the  first  few  months  of  his  return,  very 


Mr.  Stubbss  Brother.  1 1 

many  brilliant  offers  had  been  made  Toby  by  his 
companions  to  induce  him  to  aid  them  in  starting 
an  amateur  circus;  but  he  had  refused  to  have 
anything  to  do  with  the  schemes,  and  for  several 
reasons.  During  the  ten  weeks  he  had  been  away, 
he  had  seen  quite  as  much  of  a  circus  life  as  he 
cared  to  see,  without  even  such  a  mild  dose  as 
would  be  this  amateur  show ;  and,  again,  when- 
ever he  thought  of  the  matter,  the  remembrance 
of  the  death  of  his  monkey,  Mr.  Stubbs,  would 
come  upon  him  so  vividly,  and  cause  him  so  much 
sorrow,  that  he  resolutely  put  the  matter  from  his 
mind. 

Now,  however,  it  had  been  a  year  since  the 
monkey  was  killed ;  school  had  closed  during  the 
summer  season ;  and  he  was  rather  more  disposed 
to  listen  to  the  requests  of  his  friends. 

On  this  particular  night,  Reddy  Grant  had  of- 
fered to  go  with  him  for  the  cows — an  act  of 
generosity  which  Toby  accounted  for  only  on  the 
theory  that  Reddy  wanted  some  of  the  strawberries 


12  Mr.  Stubbss  Brother. 

which  grew  so  plentifully  in  Uncle  Daniel's  past- 
ure. But  when  they  arrived  there  the  strawber- 
ries were  neglected  for  the  circus  question,  and 
Toby  then  showed  he  was  at  least  willing  to  talk 
about  it. 

There  was  no  doubt  that  Bob  Atwood  knew 
Reddy  was  going  to  try  to  induce  Toby  to  help 
start  a  circus,  and  Bob  knew,  also,  that  Reddy  and 
Toby  would  visit  him,  although  he  appeared  very 
much  surprised  when  he  saw  them  coming  up  the 
hill  towards  his  house.  He  was  at  home,  evi- 
dently waiting  for  something,  at  an  hour  when 
all  the  other  boys  were  out  playing;  and  that,  in 
itself,  would  have  made  Toby  suspicious  if  he  had 
paid  much  attention  to  the  matter. 

Bob  was  perfectly  willing  to  talk  about  a  cir- 
cus—  so  willing  that,  almost  before  Toby  was 
aware  of  it,  he  was  laying  plans  with  the  others 
for  such  a  show  as  could  be  given  with  the  mate- 
rial at  hand. 

see  we'd  have  to  get  a  tent  the  first 


Mr.  Stubbs's  Brother.  13 

thing,"  said  Toby,  as  he  seated  himself  on  the  saw- 
horse  as  a  sort  of  place  of  honor,  and  proceeded  to 
give  his  companions  the  benefit  of  his  experience 
in  the  circus  line.  "  I  s'pose  we  could  get  along 
without  a  fat  woman,  or  a  skeleton;  but  we'd 
have  to  have  the  tent  anyway,  so's  folks  couldn't 
look  right  in  an'  see  the  show  for  nothin'." 

Reddy  had  decided  some  time  before  how  that 
trifling  matter  could  be  arranged ;  and,  as  he  went 
industriously  to  work  making  shavings  out  of  a 
portion  of  a  shingle,  he  said : 

"  I've  got  all  that  settled,  Toby ;  an'  when  you 
say  you're  willin'  to  go  ahead  an'  fix  up  the  show, 
I'll  be  on  hand  with  a  tent  that'll  make  your  eyes 
stick  out  over  a  foot." 

Bob  nodded  his  head  to  show  he  was  con- 
vinced Reddy  could  do  just  as  he  had  promised ; 
but  Toby  was  anxious  for  more  particulars,  and 
insisted  on  knowing  where  this  very  necessary 
portion  of  a  circus  was  coming  from. 

"  You  see  a  tent  is  a  big  thing,"  he  said  serious- 


14  Mr.  Stubbss  Brother. 

ly ;  "  an'  it  would  cost  more  money  than  the  fel- 
lers in  this  town  could  raise  if  they  should  pick 
all  the  strawberries  in  Uncle  Dan'l's  pasture." 

"  Oh,  I  don't  say  as  the  tent  Reddy's  got  his  eye 
on  is  a  reg'lar  one  like  a  real  circus  has,"  said  Bob 
slowly  and  candidly,  as  he  began  to  draw  on  the 
side  of  the  wood-shed  a  picture  of  what  he  prob- 
ably intended  should  represent  a  horse;  "but 
he  knows  how  he  can  rig  one  up  that'll  be  big 
enough,  an'  look  stavin'." 

With  this  information  Toby  was  obliged  to  be 
satisfied ;  and  with  the  view  of  learning  more  of 
the  details,  in  case  his  companions  had  arranged 
for  them,  he  asked : 

"Where  you  goin'  to  get  the  company — the 
folks  that  ride,  an'  turn  hand-springs,  an'  all  them 
things?" 

"  Ben  Gushing  can  turn  twice  as  many  hand- 
springs as  any  feller  you  ever  saw,  an'  he  can  walk 
on  his  hands  twice  round  the  engine-house.  I 
guess  you  couldn't  find  many  circuses  that  could 


Mr.  Stubbss  Brother.  17 

beat  him,  an'  he's  been  practising  in  his  barn  all 
the  chance  he  could  get  for  more'n  a  week." 

Without  intending  to  do  so,  Bob  had  thus  let 
the  secret  out  that  the  scheme  had  already  been 
talked  up  before  Toby  was  consulted,  and  then\ 
there  was  no  longer  any  reason  for  concealment. 

"  You  see  we  thought  we'd  kinder  get  things 
fixed,"  said  Reddy  quickly,  anxious  to  explain 
away  the  seeming  deception  he  had  been  guilty 
of, "  an'  we  wouldn't  say  anything  to  you  till  we 
knew  whether  we  could  get  one  up  or  not." 

"  An'  we're  goin'  to  ask  three  cents  to  come  in ; 
an'  lots  of  the  fellers  have  promised  to  buy  tickets 
if  we'll  let  'em  do  some  of  the  ridin',  or  else  lead 
the  hosses." 

"But  how  are  you  goin'  to  get  any  hosses?" 
asked  Toby,  thoroughly  surprised  at  the  way  in 
which  the  scheme  had  already  been  developed. 

"  Reddy  can  get  Jack  Douglass's  blind  one,  an' 
we  can  train  him  so's  he'll  go  'round  the  ring  all 
right ;  an'  your  uncle  Dan'l  will  let  you  have  his 


1 8  Mr.  Stubbss  Brother. 

old  white  one  that's  lame,  if  you  ask  him.  I 
ain't  sure  but  I  can  get  one  of  Chandler  Merrill's 
ponies,"  continued  Bob,  now  so  excited  by  his 
subject  that  he  left  his  picture  while  it  was  yet 
a  three  -  legged  horse,  and  stood  in  front  of  his 
friends ;  "  an'  if  we  could  sell  tickets  enough,  we 
could  hire  one  of  Rube  Howe's  bosses  for  you  to 
ride." 

"  An'  Bob's  goin'  to  be  the  clown,  an'  his  moth- 
er's goin'  to  make  him  a  suit  of  clothes  out  of  one 
of  his  grandmother's  curtains,"  added  Reddy,  as 
he  snapped  an  imaginary  whip  with  so  many  un- 
necessary flourishes  that  he  tumbled  over  the 
saw  -  horse,  thereby  mixing  a  large  quantity  of 
sawdust  in  his  brilliantly  colored  hair. 

"  An'  Reddy's  goin'  to  be  ring-master,"  explain- 
ed Bob,  as  he  assisted  his  friend  to  rise,  and  acted 
the  part  of  Good  Samaritan  by  trying  to  get  the 
sawdust  from  his  hair  with  a  curry-comb.  "  Joe 
Robinson  says  he'll  sell  tickets,  an'  'tend  the  door, 
an'  hold  the  hoops  for  you  to  jump  through." 


Mr.  Stubbs's  Brother.  19 

"Leander  Leighton's  goin'  to  be  the  band. 
He1s  got  a  pair  of  clappers ;  an'  Mrs.  Doak's  goin' 
to  show  him  how  to  play  on  the  accordion  with 
one  finger,  so's  he'll  know  how  to  make  an  awful 
lot  of  noise,"  said  Reddy,  as  he  gave  up  the  task 
of  extracting  the  sawdust,  and  devoted  his  entire 
attention  to  the  scheme. 

"  An'  we  can  have  some  animals,"  said  Bob, 
with  the  air  of  one  who  adds  the  crowning  glory 
to  some  brilliant  work. 

Toby  had  been  surprised  at  the  resources  of 
the  town  for  a  circus,  of  which  he  had  not  even 
dreamed;  and  at  Bob's  last  remark  he  left  his 
saw-horse  seat  as  if  to  enable  him  to  hear  more 
distinctly. 

"  Yes,"  continued  Bob,  "  we  can  get  a  good 
many  of  some  kinds.  Old  Mrs.  Simpson  has  got 
a  three-legged  cat  with  four  kittens,  an'  Ben  Gush- 
ing has  got  a  hen  that  crows;  an'  we  can  take 
my  calf  for  a  grizzly  bear,  an'  Jack  Havener's  two 
lambs  for  white  bears.  I've  caught  six  mice,  an' 


2o  Mr.  Stubbss  Brother. 

I'll  have  more'n  a  dozen  before  the  show  comes 
off;  an'  Reddy's  goin'  to  bring  his  cat  that  ain't 
got  any  tail.  Leander  Leighton's  goin'  to  bring 
four  of  his  rabbits  an'  make  believe  they're 
wolves ;  an'  Joe  Robinson's  goin'  to  catch  all  the 
squirrels  he  can — we'll  have  the  largest  for  foxes, 
an'  the  smallest  for  hyenas ;  an'  Joe'll  keep  howl- 
in'  while  he's  tendin'  the  door,  so's  to  make  'em 
sound  right." 

"Bob's  sister's  goin'  to  show  him  how  to  sing 
a  couple  of  songs,  an'  he's  goin'  to  write  'em  out 
on  paper  so's  to  have  a  book  to  sell,"  added 
Reddy,  delighted  at  the  surprise  expressed  in 
Toby's  face.  "  Nahum  Baker  says  if  we  have 
any  kind  of  a  show  he'll  bring  up  some  lemon- 
ade an'  some  pies  to  sell,  an'  pass  'em  round  jest 
as  they  do  in  a  reg'lar  circus." 

This  last  information  was  indeed  surprising, 
for,  inasmuch  as  Nahum  Baker  was  a  man  who 
had  an  apology  for  a  fruit-store  near  the  wharves, 
it  lent  an  air  of  realism  to  the  plan,  this  having 


Mr.  Stubbss  Brother.  2 1 

a  grown  man  connected  with  them  in  the  enter- 
prise. 

"  But  he  mustn't  get  any  of  the  boys  to  help 
him,  an'  then  treat  them  as  Job  Lord  did  me," 
said  Toby  earnestly,  the  scheme  having  grown  so 
in  the  half-  hour  that  he  began  to  fear  it  might 
be  too  much  like  the  circus  with  which  he  had 
spent  ten  of  the  longest  and  most  dreary  weeks 
he  had  ever  known. 

"I'll  look  out  for  that,"  said  Bob  confidently. 
"If  he  tries  any  of  them  games  we'll  make  him 
leave,  no  matter  how  good  a  trade  he's  doin'." 

"  Now,  where  we  goin'  to  have  the  show  ?"  and 
from  the  way  Toby  asked  the  question  it  was 
easily  seen  that  he  had  decided  to  accept  the  po- 
sition of  manager  which  had  been  so  delicately 
offered  him. 

"  That's  jest  what  we  ain't  fixed  about,"  said 
Bob,  as  if  he  blamed  himself  severely  for  not 
having  already  attended  to  this  portion  of  the 
business.  "  You  see,  if  your  Uncle  Dan'l  would 


22  Mr.  Stubbss  Brother. 

let  us  have  it  up  by  his  barn  that  would  be  jest 
the  place,  an'  I  almost  know  he'd  say  yes  if  you 
asked  him." 

"Do  you  s'pose  it  would  be  big  enough? 
You  know  when  there's  a  circus  in  town  every- 
body comes  from  all  around  to  see  it,  an'  it 
wouldn't  do  to  have  a  place  where  they  couldn't 
all  get  in,"  and  Toby  spoke  as  if  there  could  be 
no  doubt  as  to  the  crowds  that  would  collect  to 
see  this  wonderful  show  of  theirs. 

"It'll  have  to  be  big  enough,  if  we  use  the 
tent  I'm  goin'  to  get,"  said  Reddy  decidedly; 
"  for  you  see  that  won't  be  so  awful  large,  an'  it 
would  make  it  look  kinder  small  if  we  put  it 
where  the  other  circuses  put  theirs." 

"  Well,  then,  I  s'pose  we'll  have  to  make  that 
do,  an'  we  can  have  two  or  three  shows  if  there 
are  too  many  to  come  in  at  one  time,"  said  Toby  in 
a  satisfied  way  that  matters  could  be  arranged  so 
easily ;  and  then,  with  a  big  sigh,  he  added,  "  If 
only  Mr.  Stubbs  hadn't  got  killed,  what  a  show 


Mr.  Stubbfs  Brother.  23 

we  could  have!  I  never  saw  him  ride;  but  I 
know  he  could  have  done  better  than  any  one 
else  that  ever  tried  it,  if  he  wanted  to,  an'  if  we 
had  him  we  could  have  a  reg'lar  circus  without 
anybody  else." 

Then  the  boys  bewailed  the  untimely  fate  of 
Mr.  Stubbs,  until  they  saw  that  Toby  was  fast 
getting  into  a  mood  altogether  too  sad  for  the 
proper  transaction  of  circus  business,  and  Bob 
proposed  that  a  visit  be  paid  Ben  Gushing,  for 
the  purpose  of  having  him  give  them  a  private 
exhibition  of  his  skill,  in  order  that  Toby  might 
see  some  of  the  talent  which  was  to  help  make 
their  circus  a  glorious  success. 


CHAPTER  II. 

THE  BLIND  HORSE. 

REDDY  had  laid  his  plans  so  well  that  all  the 
intending  partners  were  where  they  could  easily 
be  found  on  this  evening  when  Toby's  consent 
was  to  be  won,  and  Ben  Gushing  was  no  excep- 
tion. On  the  hard,  uneven  floor  of  his  father's 
barn,  with  all  his  clothes  discarded  save  his  trou- 
sers and  shirt,  he  was  making  such  heroic  efforts 
in  the  way  of  practice,  that  while  the  boys  were 
yet  some  distance  from  the  building  they  could 
hear  the  thud  of  Ben's  head  or  heels  as  he  unex- 
pectedly came  in  contact  with  the  floor. 

When  the  three  visitors  stood  at  the  door  and 
looked  in,  Ben  professed  to  be  unaware  of  their 
presence,  and  began  a  series  of  hand-springs  that 


Mr.  Stubbss  Brother.  27 

might  have  been  wonderful,  if  he  had  not  miscal- 
culated the  distance,  and  struck  the  side  of  the 
barn  just  as  he  was  getting  well  into  the  work. 

Then,  having  lost  his  opportunity  of  dazzling 
them  by  showing  that  even  when  he  was  alone 
he  could  turn  any  number  of  hand-springs  sim- 
ply in  the  way  of  exercise,  he  suddenly  became 
aware  of  their  presence,  and  greeted  his  friends 
with  the  anxiously  asked  question  as  to  what 
Toby  had  decided  to  do  about  entering  the  cir- 
cus business. 

Bob  and  Reddy,  instead  of  answering,  waited 
for  Toby  to  speak;  it  was  a  good  opportunity 
to  have  the  important  matter  settled  definitely, 
and  they  listened  anxiously  for  his  decision. 

"  I'm  goin'  into  it,"  said  Toby  after  a  pause, 
during  which  it  appeared  as  if  he  were  trying 
to  make  up  his  mind,  "  'cause  it  seems  as  if  you 
had  it  almost  done  now.  You  know  when  I  got 
home  last  summer  I  didn't  ever  want  to  hear  of 
a  circus  or  see  one,  for  I'd  had  about  enough  of 


28  Mr.  Stubbs  s  Brother. 

them,  an'  then  I'd  think  of  poor  Mr.  Stubbs,  an' 
that  would  make  me  feel  awful  bad.  I  didn't 
think,  either,  that  we  could  get  up  such  a  good 
show;  but  now  you  fellers  have  got  so  much 
done  towards  it,  I  think  we'd  better  go  ahead— 
though  I  do  wish  Mr.  Stubbs  was  alive,  an'  we 
had  a  skeleton  an'  a  fat  woman." 

Reddy  Grant  cheered  very  loudly  as  a  means 
of  showing  how  delighted  he  was  at  thus  having 
finally  enlisted  Toby  in  the  scheme,  and  Bob,  as 
proof  of  the  high  esteem  in  which  all  the  project- 
ors of  the  enterprise  held  this  famous  circus-rider, 
said: 

"  Now  you  know  all  about  circuses,  Toby,  an' 
you  shall  be  the  chief  boss  of  this  one,  an'  we'll 
do  just  what  you  say." 

Toby  almost  blushed  as  this  great  honor  was 
actually  thrust  upon  him,  and  he  hardly  knew 
what  reply  to  make,  when  Ben  ceased  his  acro- 
batic exercises,  and,  with  Bobby  and  Reddy, 
stood  waiting  for  him  to  give  his  orders. 


Mr.  Stubbss  Brother.  29 

"I  s'pose  the  first  thing  to  do,"  he  said  at 
length, "  is  to  see  if  Jack  Douglass  is  willin'  for 
us  to  have  his  hoss,  an'  then  find  out  what  Uncle 
Dan'l  says  about  it.  If  we  don't  get  the  hoss,  it 
won't  be  any  use  to  say  anything  to  Uncle 
Dan'l." 

Reddy  was  so  anxious  to  have  matters  settled 
at  once  that  he  offered  to  go  up  to  Mr.  Douglass's 
house  then,  if  the  others  would  wait  there  for  his 
return,  which  proposition  was  at  once  accepted. 

Mr.  Douglass  was  an  old  colored  man  who 
lived  fully  half  a  mile  from  the  village;  but 
Reddy's  eagerness  caused  quick  travelling,  and 
in  a  surprisingly  short  time  he  was  back  breath- 
less and  happy.  The  coveted  horse  was  to  be 
theirs  for  as  long  a  time  as  they  wanted  him, 
provided  they  fed  him  well,  and  did  not  attempt 
to  harness  him  into  a  wagon. 

The  owner  of  the  sightless  animal  had  express- 
ed his  doubts  as  to  whether  he  would  ever  make 
much  of  a  circus-horse,  owing  to  his  lack  of  sight 


30  Mr.  Stubbs's  Brother. 

and  his  extreme  age ;  but  he  argued  that  if,  as  was 
very  probable,  the  animal  fell  while  being  ridden, 
he  would  hurt  his  rider  quite  as  much  as  him- 
self, and  therefore  the  experiment  would  not  be 
tried  so  often  as  seriously  to  injure  the  steed. 

It  only  remained  to  consult  Uncle  Daniel  on 
the  matter,  and  of  course  that  was  to  be  attend- 
ed to  by  Toby.  He  would  have  waited  until  a 
fitting  opportunity  presented  itself;  but  his  com- 
panions insisted  so  strongly,  that  he  went  home 
at  once  to  have  the  case  decided. 

Uncle  Daniel  was  seated  by  the  window  as 
usual,  looking  out  over  the  distant  hills  as  if  he 
were  trying  to  peer  in  at  the  gates  of  that  city 
where  so  many  loved  ones  awaited  him,  and  it 
was  some  moments  before  Toby  could  make  him 
understand  what  it  was  he  was  trying  to  say. 

"So  ye  didn't  get  circusin'  enough  last  sum- 
mer?" asked  the  old  gentleman,  when  at  last  he 
realized  what  it  was  the  boy  was  talking  about. 

"  Oh  yes,  I  did !"  replied  Toby,  quickly ;  "  but 


Mr.  Stubbss  Brother.  31 

you  see  that  was  a  real  one,  an'  this  of  ours  is 
only  a  little  make-believe  for  three  cents.  We 
want  to  get  you  to  let  us  have  the  lot  between 
the  barn  an'  the  road  to  put  our  tent  on,  an' 
then  lend  us  old  Whitey.  We're  goin'  to  have 
Jack  Douglass's  hoss  that's  blind,  an'  we've  got  a 
three-legged  cat,  an'  one  without  any  tail,  an'  lots 
of  things." 

"  It's  a  kind  of  a  cripples'  circus,  eh  ?  Well, 
Toby  boy,  you  can  do  as  you  want  to,  an'  you 
shall  have  old  Whitey ;  but  it  seems  to  me  you'd 
better  tie  her  lame  leg  on,  or  she'll  shake  it  off 
when  you  get  to  makin'  her  cut  up  antics." 

Then  Uncle  Daniel  returned  to  his  reverie,  and 
the  show  was  thus  decided  upon>  the  projectors 
going  again  to  view  the  triangular  piece  of  land 
so  soon  to  be  decorated  with  their  tents  and 
circus  belongings. 

Each  hour  that  passed  after  Toby  had  decided, 
with  Uncle  Daniel's  consent,  to  go  into  the  circus 
business  made  him  more  eager  to  carry  out  the 


3  2  Mr.  Stubbss  Brother. 

brilliant  plan  that  had  been  unfolded  by  Bob 
Aiwood  and  Reddy  Grant,  until  his  brain  was  in 
a  perfect  whirl  when  he  went  to  bed  that  night. 

He  was  sure  he  could  ride  as  well  as  when  he 
was  under  Mr.  Castle's  rather  severe  training,  and 
he  thought  over  and  over  again  how  he  would 
surprise  every  one  who  knew  him;  but  he  did 
not  stop  to  think  that  there  might  be  a  differ- 
ence between  the  horse  he  had  ridden  in  the  cir- 
cus and  the  lame  one  of  Uncle  Daniel's,  or  the 
blind  one  belonging  to  Mr.  Douglass.  He  had 
an  idea  that  it  all  depended  upon  himself,  with 
very  little  reference  to  the  animal,  and  he  was 
sure  he  had  his  lesson  perfectly. 

Early  as  he  got  up  the  next  morning,  his  part- 
ners in  the  enterprise  were  waiting  for  him  just 
around  the  corner  of  the  barn,  where  he  found 
them  as  he  went  for  the  cows,  and  they  walked 
to  the  pasture  with  him  in  order  to  discuss  the 
matter. 

Ben  Gushing  was  in  light-marching  and  aero- 


Air.  Stubbss  Brother.  33 

batic  costume,  worn  for  the  occasion  in  order  to 
give  a  full  exhibition  of  his  skill;  and  Reddy  had 
been  up  so  long  that  he  had  had  time  to  procure 
Mr.  Douglass's  wonderful  steed,  which  he  had  al- 
ready led  to  the  pasture  so  that  he  could  be  ex- 
perimented upon. 

"  I  thought  I'd  get  him  up  there,"  he  said  to 
Toby,  "  so's  you  could  try  him ;  'cause  if  we  don't 
get  money  enough  to  hire  one  of  Rube  Rowe, 
you'll  have  to  ride  the  blind  one  or  the  lame  one, 
an'  you'd  better  find  out  which  you  want.  If 
you  try  him  in  the  pasture  the  fellers  won't  see 
you ;  but  if  you  did  it  down  by  your  house,  every 
one  of  'em  would  huddle  'round." 

Toby  thought  the  general  idea  was  a  good  one ; 
but  he  was  just  a  trifle  uncertain  as  to  how  the 
blind  horse  would  get  along  on  such  uneven 
ground.  However,  he  said  nothing,  lest  his  com- 
panions should  think  he  was  afraid  to  make  the 
attempt ;  and  when  Ben  and  Bob  proceeded  to 
mark  out  a  ring,  he  advised  them  as  to  its  size. 

3 


34  Mr.  Stubbss  Brother. 

The  most  level  piece  of  ground  that  could  be 
found  was  selected  as  the  place  for  the  trial,  but 
several  small  mounds  prevented  it  from  being  all 
a  circus-rider  could  ask  for. 

Bob  volunteered  to  lead  the  horse  around  the 
track  several  times,  hoping  he  would  become  so 
accustomed  to  it  as  to  be  able  to  go  by  himself 
after  a  while ;  and  Toby  made  his  preparations 
by  laying  his  hat  on  the  ground  with  a  stone 
on  it,  so  that  he  should  be  sure  to  find  it  when 
his  rehearsal  was  done. 

It  was  a  warm  job  Bob  had  undertaken,  this 
leading  the  blind  animal  along  the  ill-defined  line 
that  marked  the  limits  of  the  ring,  for  the  sun 
shone  brightly,  and  there  were  no  friendly  trees 
to  lend  a  shelter ;  but  he  paid  no  attention  to  his 
discomfort  because  of  the  fact  that  he  was  doing 
something  towards  the  enterprise  which  was  to 
bring  them  in  both  honor  and  money. 

The  poor  old  horse  was  the  least  interested  of 
the  party,  and  he  stumbled  around  the  circle  in 


Mr.  Stubbss  Brother.  35 

an  abused  sort  of  way,  as  if  he  considered  it  a 
piece  of  gross  injustice  to  force  him  on  the  weary 
round  when  the  grass  was  so  plentiful  and  tender 
just  under  his  feet. 

Ben  was  busily  engaged  in  lengthening  Mr. 
Douglass's  rather  weak  and  aged  bridle  with  a 
small  piece  of  rope,  and  from  time  to  time  he 
encouraged  the  ambitious  clown  in  his  labor. 

"  Keep  it  up,  if  it  is  hot ! "  he  shouted ;  "  an' 
when  we  get  him  so's  he  can  do  it  alone,  he'll 
be  jest  as  good  a  circus-hoss  as  anybody  would 
want,  for  we  can  stuff  him  with  hay  an'  grass  till 
he's  fat,"  and  Ben  looked  at  the  clearly  defined 
ribs  in  a  critical  way,  as  if  trying  to  decide  how 
much  food  would  be  necessary  to  cover  them 
with  flesh. 

"  Oh,  I  can  keep  on  as  long  as  the  hoss  can," 
said  Bob,  as  he  wiped  the  perspiration  from  his 
face  with  one  hand,  and  clung  firmly  to  the  fore- 
lock of  the  animal  with  the  other ;  "  but  we've 
been  round  here  as  many  as  six  times  already, 


36  Mr.  Stubbss  Brother. 

an'  he  don't  seem  to  know  the  way  any  better 
than  when  we  started." 

"  Oh  yes,  he  does,"  cried  Reddy,  who  was  prac- 
tising for  his  duties  as  ring-master,  anxious  that 
his  education  should  advance  as  fast  as  the  horse's 
did ;  "  he's  got  so  he  knows  enough  to  turn  out 
for  that  second  knoll,  though  he  does  stumble  a 
little  over  the  first  one." 

By  this  time  Ben  had  the  bridle  adjusted  to 
^uit  him,  Toby  was  ready  to  make  his  first  at- 
tempt at  riding  since  he  left  the  circus,  and  the 
more  serious  work  was  begun. 

Ben  bridled  the  horse  after  some  difficulty, 
Reddy  drew  out  from  its  hiding-place  a  whip 
made  by  tying  a  piece  of  cod-line  to  an  alder 
branch,  and  Toby  was  about  to  mount,  when  Joe 
Robinson  came  in  sight. 

He  had  been  running  at  full  speed,  and  was 
nearly  breathless ;  but  he  managed  to  cry  out  so 
that  he  could  be  understood  after  considerable 
difficulty : 


Mr.  Stubbss  Brother.  37 

"  Hold  on !  don't  go  to  rid  in'  till  after  we  get 
some  hoops  for  you  to  jump  through." 

"  I  guess  I  won't  try  any  jumpin'  till  after  I  see 
how  he  goes,"  said  Toby  as  he  looked  rather 
doubtfully  first  at  the  horse's  weak  legs,  and  then 
at  his  sharp  back;  "besides,  we  can't  use  the 
hoops  till  he  gets  more  used  to  the  ring." 

Joe  threw  himself  on  the  ground  as  if  he  felt 
quite  as  much  aggrieved  because  he  was  thus 
left  out  of  the  programme  as  the  horse  apparently 
did  because  he  was  in  it,  and  Bob  consoled  him 
by  explaining  that  he  had  no  reason  to  feel 
slighted,  since  he,  who,  as  the  clown,  was  to  be 
the  life  of  the  entertainment,  could  take  no  other 
part  in  these  preparatory  steps  than  to  lead  a 
blind  horse  around  a  still  blinder  ring. 

"  Hold  him  while  I  get  on,"  said  Toby  as  he 
clutched  the  mane  and  a  portion  of  the  promi- 
nent backbone,  drawing  himself  up  at  some  risk 
of  upsetting  the  rather  shaky  steed. 

But  there  was  no  necessity  of  his  giving  this 


38  Mr.  Stubbss  Brother. 

order,  for,  although  four  boys  sprang  to  do  his 
bidding,  the  weary  horse  remained  as  motionless 
as  a  statue,  save  for  his  hard  breathing  which  pro- 
claimed the  fact  that  the  "  heaves  "  had  long  since 
singled  him  out  as  a  victim. 

Toby  succeeded  in  getting  on  the  animal's  back 
after  some  exertion ;  but  he  found  standing  there 
an  entirely  different  matter  from  standing  on 
the  broad  saddles  that  were  used  in  the  circus, 
and  the  boy  and  the  horse  made  a  shaky-look- 
ing pair. 

"Shall  I  start  him?"  asked  Bob,  while  Keddy 
stood  as  near  the  centre  of  the  ring  as  he  could 
get,  prepared  to  snap  his  cod-line  whip  at  the  first 
signal. 

Toby  hesitated  a  moment;  he  knew  that  to 
attempt  to  stand  upon,  or  on  either  side  of,  that 
prominent  backbone,  after  its  owner  was  in  mo- 
tion, would  be  simply  to  invite  his  own  downfall ; 
and  he  said,  as  he  seated  himself  carefully  astride 
the  bone: 


Mr.  Stubbss  Brother.  39 

"  Let  him  walk  around  once  till  I  see  how  he 
goes." 

Reddy  cracked  his  whip  without  producing 
any  effect  upon  the  patient  steed,  but,  after  much 
coaxing,  Bob  succeeded  in  starting  him  again, 
while  Toby  bounced  up  and  down  much  like  a 
kernel  of  corn  on  a  griddle,  such  a  decided  mo- 
tion did  the  horse  have. 

"  He  won't  ever  do  for  a  ridin'  hoss,"  said  Toby 
with  much  difficulty,  when  he  was  half-way 
around  the  circle,  "  'cause  you  see  his  bones  is  so 
sharp  that  he  feels  as  if  he  was  comin'  to  pieces 
every  time  he  steps." 

"  Jest  get  him  to  trottin'  once,  an'  then  you  can 
tell  what  he's  good  for,"  suggested  Reddy,  anx- 
ious to  try  the  effect  of  his  whip;  and,  without 
waiting  for  the  rider's  permission,  he  lashed  the 
unfortunate  animal  with  the  cod-line  until  he  suc- 
ceeded in  rousing  him  thoroughly. 

It  was  in  vain  Toby  begged  him  to  stop,  and 
Bob  shouted  that  such  a  course  was  not  the  proper 


4O  Mr.  Stubbss  Brother. 

one  for  a  ring-master  to  pursue.  Reddy  was  de- 
termined the  rider  should  have  an  opportunity 
of  trying  the  horse  under  full  speed,  and  the  re- 
suit  was  that  the  animal  broke  loose  from  Bob's 
guiding  hand,  rushing  out  of  the  imaginary  ring 
into  the  centre  of  the  pasture  at  a  rate  of  speed 
that  would  have  surprised  and  frightened  Mr. 
Douglass  had  he  been  there  to  see  it. 

Shaken  first  up,  then  down,  and  from  one  side 
to  the  other,  Toby  stretched  himself  out  at  full 
length,  clasping  the  horse  around  the  neck  as  the 
patched  bridle  broke,  and  shouting  "  Whoa !"  at 
the  full  strength  of  his  lungs. 

After  running  fully  fifty  yards,  until  it  seemed 
to  Toby  that  his  head  and  his  body  had  been 
pounded  into  one,  the  horse  stopped,  leaned  one 
heel  up  against  the  other,  and  stood  as  if  dreamily 
asking  whether  they  wanted  any  more  circus  out 
of  him. 

"  Couldn't  anybody  ride  him,  he  jolts  so,"  said 
Toby  to  his  partners,  as  they  came  running  up  to 


Mr.  Stubbss  Brother.  43 

where  he  stood  trying  to  find  out  whether  or  not 
his  tongue  was  bleeding,  and  fearing  it  was,  be- 
cause his  teeth  had  been  pounded  down  on  it  so 
hard  two  or  three  times.  "  You  see,  in  the  circus 
they  had  big,  wide  saddles,  an'  the  hosses  didn't 
go  anything  like  him." 

"  Well,  we  can  fix  a  saddle,"  said  Bob,  thought- 
fully; "but  I  don't  know  as  we  could  do  any- 
thing to  the  hoss." 

"  Perhaps  old  Whitey'll  go  better,  'cause  she's 
lame,"  suggested  Reddy,  feeling  that  considerable 
credit  was  due  him  for  having  made  it  possible 
to  test  the  animal's  qualities  in  so  short  a  time. 

UI  wouldn't  wonder  if  this  one  would  be  all 
right  when  he  gets  a  saddle  on  an'  is  trained," 
said  Joe,  and  then  he  added,  quickly,  "  I  hain't 
got  anything  more  to  do  to-day,  an'  Til  stay  up 
here  an'  train  him." 

The  partners  were  only  too  glad  to  accept  this 
offer;  and  while  Joe  led  the  horse  back  to  the 
supposed  ring,  Ben  gave  a  partial  exhibition  of 


44  'Mr.  Stubbs's  Brother. 

his  acrobatic  feats,  omitting  the  most  difficult, 
owing  to  the  uneven  surface  of  the  land. 

Then  the  partners  retired  to  the  shade  of  some 

alder  bushes,  where  they  could  fight  mosquitoes 

and  talk  over  their  plans  at  the  same  time,  while 

.  Joe  was  perspiring  in  his  self-imposed  task  of 

educating  the  blind  horse. 


CHAPTER  III. 

ABNER  BOLTON. 

"Now  I'll  see  about  makin'  the  saddle,"  said 
Bob,  "  'cause  I've  seen  'em  a  good  many  times 
in  a  circus,  an'  I  know  jest  how  they're  made. 
While  I'm  doin'  that  you  fellers  must  be  fixin' 
'bout  who  else  we'll  have  in  the  show.  Leander 
Leighton  will  come  up  here  to-morrow,  so's  we 
can  hear  how  he  plays,  an'  we  must  have  every- 
thing fixed  by  then." 

"Why  didn't  he  come  to-day?"  asked  Ben, 
thinking  that  all  the  members  of  the  firm  should 
have  been  present  at  this  first  rehearsal. 

"  Well,  you  see,  he  had  to  split  some  wood,  an' 
he  had  to  take  care  of  the  baby.  I  offered  to 
help  him  with  the  wood ;  but  he  said  he  couldn't 
get  away  any  quicker  if  I  did,  for  just  as  soon  as 


46  Mr.  Stubbss  Brother. 

the  baby  saw  another  feller  waitin'  'round,  she'd 
yell  so  awful  hard  he'd  have  to  stay  in  all  day." 

This  explanation  as  to  the  absence  of  the  band 
appeared  to  be  perfectly  satisfactory  to  those 
present,  and  they  began  to  discuss  the  merits  of 
certain  of  their  companions  in  order  to  decide 
upon  the  proper  ones  to  enlist  as  members,  since 
the  number  of  their  performers  was  not  so  large 
as  they  thought  it  should  be  in  a  show  where  an 
admission  fee  of  three  cents  was  to  be  charged. 

Just  as  they  were  getting  well  into  their  dis- 
cission,  and,  of  course,  speaking  of  such  matters 
su  managers  should  keep  a  profound  secret  from 
the  public,  Bob  cried  out : 

"  There  comes  Abner  Bolton !  He's  always 
runnin'  'round  where  he  hain't  wanted ;  an'  I 
wonder  how  he  come  to  know  we  was  here? 
I'll  send  him  off  mighty  quick  now,  you  see." 

The  boy  who  had  disturbed  Bob  so  greatly 
was  so  near  when  he  was  first  discovered  that 
by  the  time  the  threat  had  been  uttered  he  was 


Mr.  Stubbss  Brother.  47 

close  upon  them.  He  was  a  small  boy,  not  more 
than  eight  years  old,  and  hardly  as  large  as  a 
boy  of  six  should  be ;  he  walked  on  crutches  be- 
cause of  his  deformed  legs,  which  hung  withered 
and  useless,  barely  capable  of  supporting  his  slight 
weight. 

"  Now,  what  do  you  want  ?"  asked  Bob,  in  an 
angry  tone. 

"I  don't  want  anything,"  was  the  mild  reply, 
as  the  cripple  halted  just  outside  the  shade,  as 
if  not  daring  to  come  any  farther  until  invited. 
"  I  heard  you  was  goin'  to  get  up  a  circus,  an'  I 
thought  perhaps  you'd  let  me  watch  you,  'cause  I 
wouldn't  bother  you  any." 

"You  would  bother  us,  an'  you  can't  stay 
'round  here,  for  we  hain't  goin'  to  have  anybody 
watchin'  us.  You  may  come  to  the  show  if  you 
can  get  three  cents." 

"  I  don't  s'pose  I  could  do  that,"  said  the  boy, 
looking  longingly  towards  the  shade,  but  still 
standing  in  the  sun.  "I  don't  have  any  chance 


48  Mr.  Stubbss  Brother. 

to  get  money,  an'  I  do  wish  you  boys  would  let 
me  stay  where  you  are,  for  it's  so  awful  lonesome 
out  to  the  poor-farm,  an'  I  can't  run  around  as 
you  can." 

"Well,  you  can't  stay  here,  an'  the  sooner  you 
go  back  to  the  village  the  better  we'll  like  it,  for 
we  don't  want  anybody  to  know  what  we're 
talkin'  about." 

Toby  had  attempted  to  speak  once  01-  twice 
while  Bob  was  engaged  with  the  cripple  from 
the  poor-farm ;  but  he  did  not  get  an  opportu- 
nity until  Abner  turned  to  go  away,  looking  thor- 
oughly sad  and  disheartened. 

"  Don't  go,  Abner,  but  come  and  set  down  here 
where  it's  cool,  an'  perhaps  we  can  fix  it  for  you." 

The  cripple  turned  as  Toby  spoke,  and  the 
look  which  came  into  his  face  went  right  to  the 
heart  of  the  boy,  who  for  ten  long  weeks  had 
known  what  it  was  to  be  almost  entirely  without 
a  friend. 

"I  don't  see  what  you  want  him  'round  here 


Mr.  Stubbss  Brother.  49 

for,"  said  Bob,  petulantly,  as  Abner  seated  him- 
self by  Toby's  side,  thoroughly  exhausted  by  his 
long  walk.  "  He  can't  do  nothin' ;  an'  if  he  could, 
we  don't  want  no  fellers  from  the  poor-farm  mix- 
ed up  with  the  show." 

"  It  don't  make  any  difference  if  he  does  live  to 
the  poor -farm,"  said  Toby,  as  he  put  his  little 
brown  hand  on  Abner's  thin  fingers.  "He  has 
to  stay  there  'cause  his  father  and  mother's  dead, 
an'  perhaps  I'd  been  there,  'cept  for  Uncle  Dan'l. 
If  I'd  thought  before  about  his  bein'  lonesome 
an'  not  bein'  able  to  play  like  the  rest  of  us,  I'd 
gone  out  to  see  him ;  an'  now  we  do  know  it  we'll 
let  him  stay  with  us,  an'  perhaps  he  can  do  some- 
thing in  the  circus." 

"The  fellers  will  laugh  at  us,  an'  say  we're 
runnin'  a  poorhouse  show,"  replied  Bob,  sulkily. 

"  Well,  let  'em  laugh ;  we'll  feel  a  good  deal 
better'n  they  do,  'cause  we'll  know  we're  tryin' 
to  let  a  little  feller  have  some  fun  what  don't 
get  many  chances ;"  and,  in  his  excitement,  Toby 

4 


50  Mr.  Stubbss  Brother. 

spoke  so  loudly  that  Joe  came  running  up  to  see 
what  was  the  matter. 

"  Let  him  stay  'round  here  to-day,  'cause  we've 
got  all  through  practising  an'  then  tell  him  to 
keep  away,"  said  Ben,  thinking  this  idea  a  very 
generous  one. 

"He  can  belong  to  the  show  jest  as  well  as 
not ;  an'  if  you  fellers  will  let  him,  I'll  give  you 
my  part  of  all  the  money  we  make." 

This  proposition  of  Toby's  put  the  matter  on  a 
very  different  basis,  and  both  Ben  and  Bob  now 
looked  favorably  inclined  towards  it. 

"  Don't  you  do  that,  Toby,"  said  Abner,  his  eyes 
filling  with  tears  because  of  the  kindness  shown 
him.  "  I'll  go  right  away,  an'  I  won't  come  into 
the  village  again  to  bother  you." 

"You  shall  come  into  the  village  every  day, 
Abner,  an'  you  won't  bother  us  at  all,  for  you 
shall  go  'long  of  me  everywhere  I  do,  an'  I  won't 
never  walk  any  faster'n  you  can;"  and  Toby 
moved  his  seat  nearer  Abner,  to  show  that  he 
took  him  under  his  especial  care. 


Mr.  Stubbss  Brother.  5 1 

"He  might  help  tend  the  door,"  said  Joe, 
kindly,  anxious  to  please  Toby,  "  an'  that'll  give 
me  a  chance  to  do  more  howlin'  for  the  hyenas, 
'cause  that'll  be  'bout  all  I  oughter  do  if  I  have 
to  hold  the  hoops." 

"  Yes,  he  can  do  that,"  and  Toby  was  very 
eager  now,  "  an'  we  can  get  him  a  stool  to  sit  on, 
an'  he  can  do  jest  as  much  as  if  he  could  stand  up." 

By  this  time  Bob  and  Ben  had  decided  that, 
in  consideration  of  Toby's  offer,  Abner  should  be 
counted  as  one  of  the  company,  and  the  matters 
under  discussion  that  had  been  interrupted  by 
the  cripple's  coming  were  again  taken  up. 

Owing  to  the  possible  chance  that  Joe  could 
not  succeed  in  training  the  blind  horse  sufficiently 
to  make  him  useful  in  the  ring,  it  was  necessary 
to  know  just  what  animals  they  could  procure, 
and  Bob  offered  to  see  Chandler  Merrill  for  the 
purpose  of  securing  the  services  of  his  Mexican 
pony,  who  had  never  allowed  any  one  to  ride 
him  without  first  having  a  severe  battle. 


52  Mr.  Stubbss  Brother. 

"  We  can  train  him  down  all  right,"  said  Bob ; 
"  an'  you  fellers  come  down  now  while  I  find  out 
*bout  the  pony,  so's  we  can  come  back  here  after 
dinner." 

As  it  was  very  important  that  this  matter 
should  be  settled  as  soon  as  possible,  Bob's  ad- 
vice was  acted  upon ;  and  as  the  boys  started  to 
go,  Toby  said : 

"  Come,  Abner,  you  come  home  with  me  an'  get 
some  dinner,  an'  then  you  can  come  back  here 
when  I  do." 

Bob  was  disposed  to  make  sport  of  this  sud- 
den friendship;  but  Toby  paid  no  attention  to 
what  he  said,  and  if  any  of  them  wanted  to  talk 
with  him,  they  too  were  obliged  to  walk  with 
the  boy  from  the  poor-farm. 

By  the  time  they  arrived  at  Uncle  Daniel's, 
Toby  had  formed  many  plans  for  making  the  life 
of  the  homeless  boy  more  cheerful  than  it  ever 
had  been. 


CHAPTER  IV. 
THE  PONY. 

TOBY'S  interest  in  the  crippled  boy  whom  he 
had  taken  under  his  charge  was  considerably 
greater  than  in  the  contemplated  circus;  and  both 
Bob  and  Ben  felt  angry  and  injured  when,  in 
the  midst  of  some  brilliant  plan  for  startling 
those  of  the  good  people  of  Guilford  who  should 
come  to  their  circus,  Toby  would  stop  to  say 
something  to  Abner,  who  was  hobbling  along  as 
fast  as  possible  in  order  that  he  might  not  oblige 
the  party  to  wait  for  him. 

For  a  number  of  years  Toby  had  known  that 
there  was  a  crippled  orphan  at  the  poor-farm ; 
but  it  so  happened  that  he  had  not  met  him  very 
often,  and  even  then  he  had  no  idea  of  the  lonely 
life  the  boy  was  obliged  to  lead. 


54  Mr.  Stubbss  Brother. 

On  the  way  to  the  village  he  had  formed  sev- 
eral plans  by  which  he  might  aid  Abner;  but 
none  of  them  could  be  put  into  operation  until 
after  he  had  consulted  Uncle  Daniel  and  Aunt 
Olive. 

It  was  nearly  noon,  and  the  understanding  was 
that  each  one  should  get  his  dinner  and  go  to 
the  pasture  again,  when  it  would  be  known 
whether  they  were  to  be  able  to  number  Chand- 
ler Merrill's  pony  among  the  attractions  of  their 
show,  or  be  wholly  dependent  upon  the  disabled 
horses  that  as  yet  made  up  their  collection. 

"  You're  comin'  to  get  dinner  with  me,  Abner," 
said  Toby,  as  he  stopped  in  front  of  Uncle  Dan- 
iel's gate,  while  the  little  fellow  was  continuing 
on  his  way  to  the  only  place  he  could  call  home, 
there  to  get  his  dinner  with  the  other  paupers. 

"I'm  afraid  your  aunt  won't  want  me,"  he 
said,  shyly,  while  it  was  plain  to  be  seen  that  he 
would  be  more  than  well  pleased  to  accept  the 
invitation. 


Mr.  Stubbss  Brother.  55 

"Aunt  Olive  won't  care  a  bit,  an'  she'll  be 
glad  to  have  you,  I  know,  'cause  she  says  it  al- 
ways does  her  good  to  see  hungry  people  eat, 
tfcough  if  that's  so  I  must  have  done  her  an 
awful  sight  of  good  lots  of  times,  for  it  don't 
seem  to  me  I  ever  set  down  to  the  table  in  my 
life  but  what  I  was  awful  hungry.  Come  on 
now,  so's  we'll  have  time  to  get  our  hands  an1 
faces  washed  before  the  dinner-bell  rings." 

Abner  followed  Toby  in  a  hesitating  way, 
much  as  if  he  expected  each  moment  to  be  or- 
dered back ;  and  when  they  arrived  at  the  door 
he  stood  on  the  threshold,  not  daring  to  enter 
until  permission  had  been  given. 

"This  is  Abner  Bolton,  Uncle  Dan'l,"  said 
Toby,  as  he  saw  that  his  newly  made  friend 
would  not  come  in  without  an  invitation  from 
some  one  besides  himself.  "  He  lives  out  to  the 
poor-farm,  an'  he  don't  have  any  such  nice  home 
as  I've  got,  so  I  thought  you  wouldn't  care  if  1 
brought  him  in  to  dinner." 


56  Mr.  Stubbs's  Brother. 

"  You've  got  a  good  heart,  Toby,  boy,  and  the 
Lord  will  reward  you  for  it,"  said  Uncle  Daniel, 
as  he  stroked  the  boy's  refractory  hair ;  and  then 
he  said  to  Abner, "  Come  in,  my  lad,  and  share 
Toby's  dinner,  nor  need  you  ever  hesitate  about 
accepting  any  such  invitation  when  it  leads  you 
here." 

Then  Aunt  Olive  greeted  Abner  so  kindly 
that  the  poor  boy  hardly  knew  whether  it  was 
reality  or  a  dream,  so  strange  was  it  all  to  him. 

During  the  dinner  Toby  told  of  the  difficulty 
he  had  had  in  getting  his  partners  to  consent  to 
Abner's  being  one  of  the  company,  and  Aunt 
Olive,  who  had  shown  considerable  interest  in 
the  circus  scheme,  said : 

"  Why  don't  you  let  him  keep  a  stand,  and 
then  he  can  make  some  money  for  himself.  I 
will  bake  him  a  lot  of  doughnuts  and  ginger- 
snaps,  and  your  Uncle  Dan'l  will  lend  him 
money  enough  to  buy  lemons  an'  sugar.  It  will 
be  a  deal  better  than  to  have  Nahum  Baker 


Mr.  Stubbss  Brother.  57 

there  with  his  pies  that  are  as  heavy  as  lead,  an' 
doughnuts  that  have  soaked  up  all  the  fat  in  the 
pan." 

Toby  was  delighted  with  the  plan,  and  Ab- 
ner's  eyes  glistened  at  the  mere  idea  that  it 
might  be  possible  for  him  to  do,  once  in  his  life 
at  least,  as  did  other  and  more  fortunate  boys. 

It  certainly  seemed,  when  they  arrived  at  the 
pasture  again,  as  if  everything  was  conspiring  in 
favor  of  their  circus,  for  Chandler  Merrill  had 
willingly  consented  to  let  them  use  his  pony; 
but  he  had  done  so  with  the  kindly  prophecy 
that  the  little  animal  would  "kick  their  brains 
out "  if  they  were  not  careful  with  him. 

In  order  to  make  sure  that  the  consent  would 
not  be  withdrawn,  and  at  the  same  time  to  prove 
that  he  told  the  truth,  Bob  had  brought  the  pony 
with  him,  and,  judging  from  his  general  appear- 
ance as  he  stood  gazing  suspiciously  at  the  Doug- 
lass horse,  he  deserved  all  that  was  said  of  him 
regarding  his  vicious  qualities.  He  was  about 


58  Mr.  Stubbss  Brother. 

half  the  size  of  an  ordinary  horse,  and  his  coat 
was  ragged  -  looking,  owing  to  its  having  been 
rubbed  off  in  spots,  thus  giving  him  the  air  of 
just  such  a  pony  as  one  would  suppose  willing 
to  join  a  party  of  boys  in  starting  a  circus. 

"  Now,  there's  a  boss  that  hain't  either  lame  or 
blind,"  said  Bob,  proudly,  as  he  led  the  pony 
once  around  the  ring  to  show  his  partners  how 
he  stepped.  If  he  was  intending  to  say  anything 
more,  he  concluded  to  defer  it  while  he  made 
some  very  rapid  movements  in  order  to  escape 
the  blow  the  "  hoss  "  aimed  at  him  with  his  hind- 
feet. 

"  Kicks,  don't  he  ?"  said  Toby,  in  a  tone  which 
plainly  told  he  did  not  think  him  very  well 
suited  to  their  purpose. 

"  Well,  he  did  then,"  and  Bob  fastened  the 
halter  more  securely  by  putting  one  end  of  the 
rope  through  the  pony's  mouth ;  "but  you  see 
that's  'cause  he  hain't  been  used  much,  an'  he's 
tickled  'cause  he's  goin'  to  belong  to  a  circus." 


Mr.  Stubbss  Brother.  59 

"How  long  before  he'll  get  over  bein'  tickled?" 
asked  Joe.  "  I'm  willin'  to  train  Jack  Douglass's 
boss;  but  I  don't  know  'bout  this  one  till  he 
gets  sorry  enough  not  to  kick." 

"Oh,  he'll  be  all  right  jest  as  soon  as  Toby 
rides  him  'round  the  ring  a  little  while." 

"Do  you  think  I'm  goin'  to  ride  him?"  asked 
Toby,  beginning  to  believe  his  partners  expected 
more  of  him  than  ever  Mr.  Castle  did. 

"  Of  course ;  a  feller  what's  been  with  a  circus 
ought  to  know  how  to  ride  any  hoss  that  ever 
lived,"  replied  Bob,  with  considerable  emphasis, 
owing  to  the  fact  that  the  pony  kicked  and 
plunged  so  that  his  words  were  jerked  out  of 
him,  rather  than  spoken. 

"I  s'pose  some  fellers  can;  but  I  wasn't  with 
the  circus  long  enough  to  find  out  how  to  ride 
such  bosses  as  them,"  and  Toby  retired  to  the 
shade  of  the  alder  bushes,  where  Abner  was  sit- 
ting to  wait  until  Bob  and  the  pony  had  come 
to  terms. 


60  Mr.  Stubbss  Brother. 

It  was  .quite  as  much  as  Bob  could  do  to  hold 
his  prize,  without  trying  to  make  any  arrange- 
ments for  having  him  ridden,  and  he  called 
Reddy  to  help  him. 

Now,  as  the  ring-master  of  the  contemplated 
circus,  Reddy  ought  to  have  known  all  about 
horses,  and  he  thought  he  did  until  the  pony 
made  one  plunge,  just  as  he  came  up  smiling 
with  whip  in  hand.  Then  he  said,  as  he  ran 
towards  Toby : 

"I  don't  believe  I  want  to  be  ring-master  if 
we're  goin'  to  have  that  hoss." 

"  Here,  Joe,  you  help  me,''  cried  Bob,  in  desper- 
ation, growing  each  moment  more  afraid  of  the 
steed.  "I  want  to  get  him  up  by  the  fence, 
where  we  can  hitch  him,  till  we  find  out  what 
to  do  with  him." 

Joe  was  perfectly  willing  to  assist  the  unfortu- 
nate clown  in  his  troubles ;  but,  as  he  started 
towards  him,  the  pony  wheeled  and  flung  his 
heels  out  with  a  force  that  showed  he  would  do 


Mr.  Stubbss  Brother.  61 

some  damage  if  he  could,  and  Joe  also  joined  the 
party  among  the  bushes. 

Bob  was  thus  left  alone  with  his  prize,  and  a 
most  uncomfortable  time  he  appeared  to  be  hav- 
ing of  it,  standing  there  in  the  hot  sun  clinging 
desperately  to  the  halter,  and  jumping  from  one 
side  to  the  other  when  the  pony  attempted  to 
bite,  or  strike  him  with  his  fore-feet. 

"Let  him  go;  he  hain't  any  good,"  shouted 
Reddy  from  his  secure  retreat. 

"  If  I  let  go  the  halter,  he'll  jump  right  at  me," 
and  there  was  a  certain  ring  in  Bob's  voice  that 
told  he  was  afraid. 

"  Hitch  him  to  the  fence,  an'  then  climb  over," 
suggested  Joe. 

"  But  I  can't  get  him  over  there,  for  he  won't 
go  a  step,"  and  Bob  continued  to  hold  fast  to  the 
halter,  afraid  to  do  so,  but  still  more  afraid  to 
let  go. 

He  had  borrowed  the  pony;  but  it  certainly 
seemed  as  if  the  animal  had  borrowed  him, 


62  Mr.  Stubbss  Brother. 

for  his  fear  caused  him  to  cling  desperately  to 
the  halter  as  the  only  possible  means  of  saving 
his  life. 

The  boys  under  the  alder  bushes  were  fully 
alive  to  the  fact  that  something  should  be  done, 
although  they  were  undecided  as  to  what  that 
something  should  be. 

Joe  proposed  that  they  all  rush  out  and  scare 
the  pony  away ;  but  Bob  insisted  that  he  would 
be  the  sufferer  by  such  a  course.  Reddy  thought 
if  Bob  should  show  more  spirit,  and  let  the  vi- 
cious little  animal  see  that  he  was  not  afraid  of 
him,  everything  would  be  all  right ;  but  when  it 
was  proposed  that  he  try  the  plan  himself,  he 
concluded,  perhaps,  there  might  be  serious  objec- 
tions to  such  a. course. 

Ben  thought  if  all  of  them  got  hold  of  the 
halter,  they  could  pull  the  pony  to  the  fence, 
and  this  plan  was  looked  upon  with  such  favor 
that  it  was  adopted  at  once. 

Every  one,  except  Abner,  took  hold   of  the 


Mr.  Stubbss  Brother.  63 

halter,  after  some  little  delay  in  getting  there, 
owing  to  the  readiness  of  the  pony  to  use  his 
heels  at  the  slightest  provocation;  and,  just  when 
they  were  about  to  put  forth  all  their  strength  in 
pulling,  the  pony  jumped  towards  them  sudden- 
ly, rendering  their  efforts  useless,  and  starting  all, 
save  Bob,  back  to  the  alder  bushes  in  ignomini- 
ous flight. 

Bob  still  remained  at  his  post,  or,  more  correct- 
ly speaking,  the  halter,  and  it  was  very  much 
against  his  will  that  he  did  so. 

"  I  wish  Chandler  Merrill  would  come  up  here 
an'  get  his  old  hoss,  for  I  don't  want  him  any 
longer,"  he  said,  angrily.  "  He  ought  to  be  pros- 
ecuted  for  lettin'  us  have  such  a  old  tiger." 

Bob  did  not  seem  to  remember  that,  if  he  had 
been  refused  the  loan  of  the  pony,  he  would  have 
considered  Chandler  Merrill  very  selfish ;  in  fact, 
he  hardly  remembered  anything  save  his  own  de- 
sire to  get  rid  of  the  animal,  and  as  quickly  aa 
possible. 


64  Mr.  Stubbss  Brother. 

"  What  shall  I  do  ?"  he  cried,  in  desperation. 
"  I  can't  stand  here  all  day,  an'  the  hoss  don't 
mean  to  let  me  get  away." 

"  We've  got  to  help  Bob,"  said  Toby,  decided- 
ly, as  he  arose  to  his  feet  again,  and  went  towards 
the  unfortunate  clown.  "  If  you  fellers  will  try 
to  hold  him,  I'll  get  on  his  back,  an'  then  Bob 
can  get  away." 

"  But  he'll  throw  you  off,  an'  hurt  you,"  ob- 
jected Abner,  trying  to  prevent  his  newly  made 
friend  from  going. 

"  I  can  stop  him  from  doing  that,  an'  it's  the 
only  way  I  know  of  to  help  Bob." 

"  You  get  on,  Toby,  an'  then  I'll  scoot  jest  as 
soon  as  you  get  hold  of  the  halter,"  said  Bob, 
happy  at  this  prospect  of  being  relieved.  "  Then, 
when  you  get  a  chance,  you  jump  off,  an'  we'll  let 
somebody  else  take  him  home." 

It  was  a  hard  task,  and  they  all  ran  consider- 
able risk  of  getting  kicked ;  but  at  last  it  was 
accomplished,  so  far  as  mounting  was  concerned. 


Mr.  Stubbss  Brother.  67 

Toby  was  on  the  pony's  back  with  a  firm  grasp 
of  the  rope  that  was  made  to  serve  as  bridle. 

"  Now,  be  all  ready  to  run,"  he  said ;  and  there 
was  no  disposition  to  linger  shown  by  any  of  his 
friends. 

"  Let  go !"  he  shouted,  and  at  the  sound  of  his 
voice  the  boys  went  one  way  and  the  pony  an- 
other at  full  speed. 

It  was  not  until  the  would-be  circus  managers 
were  within  the  shelter  of  the  clump  of  bushes 
that  they  stopped  to  look  for  their  partner,  and 
then  they  saw  him  at  the  further  end  of  the  pas- 
ture,  the  pony  running  and  leaping  as  if  doing  his 
best  to  dislodge  his  rider. 

Even  the  Douglass  horse  seemed  to  be  excited 
by  the  display  of  spirit,  for  he  capered  around 
in  a  manner  very  unbecoming  one  as  old  and 
blind  as  he. 

Only  for  a  few  moments  could  they  watch  the 
contest,  and  then  the  distant  trees  hid  Toby  Tyler 
and  Chandler  Merrill's  pony  from  view. 


CHAPTER  V. 
OLD  BEN. 

SOME  time  the  boys  watched  for  Toby's  return, 
and  just  as  they  were  beginning  to  think  they 
ought  to  go  in  search  of  him,  and  fearing  lest  he 
had  been  hurt  by  the  vicious  pony,  they  saw  him 
coming  from  among  the  trees,  alone  and  on  foot. 

"  Well,"  said  Bob,  with  a  sigh  of  relief,  "  he's 
got  rid  of  the  hoss,  an'  that  was  all  we  wanted." 

Toby's  story,  when  at  last,  hot  and  tired,  he 
reached  the  alder  bushes,  was  not  nearly  so  ex- 
citing as  his  partners  anticipated.  He  had  clung 
to  the  pony  until  they  entered  the  woods,  where 
he  was  brushed  off  by  the  branches  of  the  trees 
as  easily  as  if  he  had  been  a  fly,  and  with  as  little 
damage. 


Mr.  Stubbss  Brother.  69 

How  they  should  get  the  pony  back  into  its 
owner's  keeping  was  a  question  difficult  to  an- 
swer, and  they  were  all  so  completely  worn  out 
by  their  exertions  to  get  rid  of  him  that  they  did 
not  attempt  to  come  to  any  conclusion  regarding  it. 

While  they  were  resting  from  their  labors,  and 
before  they  had  ceased  to  congratulate  each  other 
that  they  had  succeeded  in  separating  themselves 
from  the  pony,  Leander  Leighton,  his  accordion 
under  his  arm  and  his  clappers  in  his  hand,  made 
his  appearance. 

His  struggle  with  the  baby  had  evidently 
come  to  an  end  sooner  than  he  had  dared  hope, 
and  the  managers  were  happy  at  this  speedy 
prospect  of  hearing  what  their  band  could  do  in 
the  way  of  music. 

"  Boys !"  shouted  Leander,  excitedly,  while  he 
was  some  distance  away,  "  there's  a  real  circus 
comin'  here  next  week — the  same  one  Toby  Tyler 
run  away  with — an'  the  men  are  pastin'  up  the 
bills  now,  down  to  the  village !" 


jo  Mr.  Stubbss  Brother. 

The  boys  looked  at  each  other  in  surprise ;  it 
had  never  entered  into  their  calculations  that 
they  might  have  a  real  circus  as  a  rival,  and  cer- 
tainly Toby  had  never  thought  he  would  again 
see  those  whom  he  had  first  run  away  with  and 
then  run  away  from.  He  was  rather  disturbed 
by  the  prospect  at  first,  for  it  seemed  certain  that 
Job  Lord  and  Mr.  Castle  would  try  to  compel  him 
to  go  with  them ;  but  a  moment's  thought  con- 
vinced him  that  Uncle  Daniel  would  not  allow 
them  to  carry  him  away,  and  he  grew  as  eager 
for  more  news  as  any  of  the  others. 

Leander  knew  no  more  than  he  had  already 
told ;  after  having  been  relieved  from  his  care  of 
the  baby,  he  had  started  for  the  pasture,  and  had 
seen  the  show-bills  as  he  came  along.  He  was 
certain  it  was  the  same  circus  Toby  had  gone 
with,  for  the  names  on  the  bills  were  the  same, 
and  he  had  heard  some  of  the  townspeople  say 
so  as  he  came  along. 

"An'  I  shall  see  the  skeleton  an'  the  fat  woman 


Mr.  Stubbs's  Brother.  73 

again,"  said  Toby,  delighted  at  the  idea  of  meet- 
ing those  kind  friends  from  whom  he  had  thought 
himself  parted  with  forever. 

"  Don't  you  s'pose  you  could  get  'em  to  leave 
that  show  an'  come  with  ours?"  asked  Bob, 
thinking  perhaps  some  kind  fortune  had  thrown 
this  opportunity  in  their  way  that  they  might 
the  better  succeed  in  their  project. 

Toby  was  not  sure  such  a  plan  could  be  made 
to  work,  for  the  reason  that  they  were  only  in- 
tending to  give  two  or  three  performances,  and 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Treat  might  not  think  it  worth  their 
while  to  leave  the  circus  they  were  with  on  the 
strength  of  such  uncertain  prospects. 

"  And  you  shall  go  to  the  show,  Abner,"  said 
Toby,  pleased  at  the  opportunity  he  would  have 
of  making  the  crippled  boy  happy  for  one  day  at 
least ;  "  an'  I'll  take  all  of  you  fellers  down,  an' 
get  the  skeleton  to  talk  at  you,  so's  you  can  see 
how  nice  he  is.  You  shall  see  his  wife,  an'  old 
Ben,  an'  Ella,  an'—" 


74  Mr.  StubbJs  Brother. 

"  But  won't  you  be  afraid  of  Job  Lord  ?"  inter- 
rupted Leander,  fearful  lest  Toby's  dread  of  meet 
ing  his  old  employer  might  prevent  them  from 
having  all  this  promised  enjoyment. 

"  Uncle  Dan'l  wouldn't  let  him  take  me  away, 
an'  now  I'm  home  here  I  don't  believe  old  Ben 
would  let  him  touch  me." 

There  was  evidently  no  probability  that  they 
would  transact  any  more  business  relative  to  their 
own  circus  that  day,  so  intent  were  they  on  talk- 
ing about  the  one  that  was  to  come,  and  it  was 
not  until  nearly  time  to  drive  the  cows  home  that 
they  remembered  the  presence  of  their  band. 

Ben  proposed  that  Leander  should  show  them 
what  he  could  do  in  the  way  of  music,  so  that  he 
need  not  be  at  the  trouble  of  bringing  his  ac- 
cordion up  into  the  pasture  again,  and  the  boys 
ceased  all  conversation  for  the  purpose  of  listen- 
ing to  the  so-called  melody. 

After  considerable  preparation  in  the  way  of 
polishing  his  clappers  on  the  cuff  of  his  jacket, 


Mr.  Stubbss  Brother.  75 

and  fingering  the  keys  of  his  accordion  to  make 
sure  they  were  in  proper  working  order,  Leander 
extracted  with  one  finger  a  few  bars  of  "  Yankee 
Doodle"  from  the  last-named  instrument,  and  gave 
an  imitation  of  a  drum  with  the  clappers,  in  a  man- 
ner that  won  for  him  no  small  amount  of  applause. 

"  Now,  we'll  go  home,"  said  Toby,  "'cause  Uncle 
Dan'l  will  be  waitin'  for  me  an'  the  cows,  an'  to- 
morrow I'll  meet  you  down-town  where  the  circus 
pictures  be." 

Then  he  helped  Abner  on  to  his  crutches,  and 
walked  beside  him  all  the  way,  wishing,  oh,  so 
much !  that  he  could  save  the  poor  boy  from  hav- 
ing to  go  out  to  the  poor-farm  to  sleep. 

"  You  come  in  just  as  early  as  you  can  in  the 
mornin',  Abner,  an'  you  shall  eat  dinner  with  me," 
he  said,  as  he  parted  with  the  boy  at  Uncle  Dan- 
iel's gate,  "  an'  perhaps  you'll  make  so  much 
money  at  our  circus  that  you  won't  ever  have  to 
go  out  to  the  poor-farm  again." 

Abner  tried  to  thank  his  friend  for  the  kind- 


76  Mr.  Stubbss  Brother. 

ness  he  had  shown  him;  but  the  sobs  of  grati- 
tude came  into  his  throat  so  fast  that  it  was  im- 
possible, and  he  hobbled  away  towards  his  dreary 
home,  while  Toby  ran  into  the  house  to  tell  the 
astounding  news  of  the  coming  of  the  circus. 

"So  all  the  people  who  were  so  kind  to  you 
will  be  here  next  week,  will  they  ?"  said,  rather 
than  asked,  Aunt  Olive.  "  Well,  Toby,  we'll  kill 
one  of  the  lambs,  an'  you  shall  invite  them  up 
here  to  dinner,  which  will  kind  of  encourage  them 
to  be  good  to  any  other  little  boy  who  may  be 
as  foolish  as  you  were." 

Toby  lay  awake  a  long  time  that  night,  think- 
ing of  the  pleasure  he  was  to  have  in  seeing 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Treat,  old  Ben  and  little  Ella,  eat- 
ing dinner  in  Uncle  Daniel's  home,  and  of  how 
good  a  boy  he  ought  to  be  to  repay  his  uncle 
and  aunt  for  their  loving-kindness  to  him. 

Operations  were  almost  entirely  suspended 
by  the  would-be  circus  managers  in  view  of  the 
coming  of  the  real  show.  It  would  have  been 


Mr.  Stubbs's  Brother.  77 

commercial  folly  to  attempt  to  enter  into  compe- 
tition with  it ;  the  real  circus  would,  without  a 
doubt,  prove  too  strong  a  rival  for  them  to  con- 
tend against;  and  by  waiting  until  after  it  had 
come  and  gone  they  might  be  able  to  pick  up 
some  useful  ideas  regarding  the  show  they  pro- 
posed to  give. 

This  delay  would  be  to  their  advantage  in  a 
great  many  other  ways.  The  band  would  have 
so  much  time  for  practice  that  he  might  learn  an- 
other tune,  or  even  be  able  to  play  with  more 
than  one  finger;  their  acrobat  would  have  so 
many  rehearsals  that  he  could,  perhaps,  double 
his  present  allowance  of  hand -springs,  and  Joe 
would  be  able  to  bring  his  horses  to  a  more 
perfect  state  of  training. 

Mr.  Douglass,  having  no  use  for  his  horse,  was 
perfectly  willing  he  should  remain  under  Joe's 
tuition,  providing  it  was  done  in  Uncle  Daniel's 
pasture ;  but  matters  were  not  in  so  good  a  con- 
dition regarding  the  pony. 


78  Mr.  Stutts's  Brother. 

Chandler  Merrill  was  anxious  to  have  his  prop- 
erty returned  to  him,  and  not  willing  to  go  after 
it.  Besides,  Mr.  Douglass's  horse  was  in  great 
danger  of  being  kicked  to  death  so  long  as  the 
vicious  little  animal  remained  in  the  same  pasture. 

Veiy  many  were  the  discussions  the  boys  had 
on  the  subject;  but  nothing  could  be  suggested 
which  promised  any  relief,  after  Bob's  brilliant 
idea  of  driving  the  pony  out,  and  letting  him  find 
his  way  home  as  best  he  might,  was  tried  with- 
out success.  The  pony  not  only  refused  to  go 
out,  but  he  actually  drove  the  boys  away  by  the 
liberal  use  he  made  of  his  heels. 

Slowly  the  time  passed  until  the  day  before 
the  one  on  which  the  circus  was  to  arrive.  Toby 
had  almost  been  counting  the  hours,  and  Abner, 
who  was  to  see  the  interior  of  a  circus  tent 
for  the  first  time  in  his  life,  was  quite  as  excited 
&s  he. 

The  lamb  had  been  killed  as  Aunt  Olive  had 
promised,  and  a  rare  store  of  good  things  in  the 


Mr.  Stubbss  Brother.  79 

way  of  apple-pies,  cake,  doughnuts,  and  custards 
had  been  prepared,  until  the  pantry  looked  like  a 
large-sized  baker's  shop  just  opened  for  inspection. 

Everything  was  ready  for  the  guests,  who  were 
to  be  invited  to  dinner  next  day ;  and  when  Toby 
went  to  bed  that  night,  it  seemed  as  if  he  would 
never  get  to  sleep  for  thinking  of  all  the  friends 
he  was  to  see. 

Abner  was  in  quite  as  sleepless  a  condition  as 
Toby;  Aunt  Olive  had  invited  him  to  remain 
overnight,  so  that  he  might  see  everything  that 
was  going  on,  and  as  he  lay  in  the  soft,  geranium- 
scented  bed,  his  eyes  were  kept  wide  open  by  hi? 
delight  with  what  seemed  to  him  the  magnificence 
of  the  room. 

It  seemed  as  though  each  boy  in  the  village 
considered  himself  Toby's  particular  and  intimate 
friend  during  the  week  that  preceded  the  coming 
of  the  circus;  and  the  marbles,  balls,  and  boats 
that  were  showered  upon  him  in  the  way  of  gifts 
would  almost  have  stocked  a  small  shop. 


8o  Mr.  Stubbss  Brother. 

Then,  on  this  day  before  the  circus,  all  the  boys 
in  town  were  most  anxious  to  know  just  where 
Toby  proposed  meeting  the  cavalcade,  at  what 
time  he  was  to  start,  and  other  details  which 
showed  quite  plainly  it  was  their  intention  to 
accompany  him  if  possible. 

When  Toby  went  to  bed,  it  was  with  the  ex 
press  understanding  with  Uncle  Daniel  that  he 
was  to  be  called  at  daylight,  in  order  that  he 
might  start  out  to  meet  the  circus  when  it  stop- 
ped to  prepare  for  its  entrance  into  the  town. 
The  place  where  the  procession  was  usually  form- 
ed was  fully  two  miles  from  town,  and  as  Abner 
could  hardly  walk  that  distance,  and  certainly 
could  not  walk  so  fast  as  Toby  would  want  to  go, 
he  had  agreed  to  drive  the  cows  to  pasture,  after 
which  he  was  to  go  to  the  tenting-ground,  where 
his  friend  would  introduce  him  to  all  the  celebri- 
ties. 


CHAPTER  VI. 

THE  GREAT  EVENT. 

UNCLE  DANIEL  seemed  quite  as  anxious  as 
Toby  that  he  should  leave  the  house  in  time 
to  meet  his  circus  friends  before  the  entree  was 
made,  and  Aunt  Olive  afterwards  said  he  didn't 
sleep  a  wink  after  two  o'clock  for  fear  he  might 
not  waken  in  time  to  rouse  the  anxious  boy. 

It  was  fully  an  hour  before  sunrise  when  Uncle 
Daniel  awakened  Toby,  and  cautioned  him  to  eat 
as  much  of  the  lunch  Aunt  Olive  had  set  out  as 
possible,  insisting  that  what  he  could  not  eat  he 
should  put  into  his  pocket,  as  it  would  be  a  long 
while  before  he  would  get  his  dinner. 

The  two  miles  Toby  was  obliged  to  walk  seem- 
ed very  short  ones,  and  at  nearly  every  house  on 

6 


82  Mr.  Stubbss  Brother. 

the  road  one  or  more  boys  were  watching  for  him 
quite  as  eagerly  as  for  the  show  itself,  so  that  by 
the  time  he  arrived  at  the  place  where  two  or 
three  of  the  wagons  had  drawn  up  by  the  side 
of  the  road,  he  had  as  many  as  a  hundred  boya 
for  an  escort,  all  of  whom  were  urging  him  to  get 
the  manager  to  take  out  a  few  lions  and  tigers 
for  their  inspection  before  starting  for  the  vil« 
lage. 

Toby  could  hold  out  no  promise  to  them;  on 
the  contrary,  he  insisted  that  he  hardly  knew  the 
manager,  save  by  sight,  and  explained  to  them 
that  they  were  unwise  to  come  with  him  on  any 
such  errand,  since  none  of  the  curiosities  could 
be  seen  there,  and  if  old  Ben  were  still  with  the 
company  he  should  ride  back  with  him. 

But  the  boys  put  very  little  faith  in  what  he 
said,  seeming  to  have  the  idea  that  he  simply 
wanted  to  get  rid  of  them,  and,  instead  of  going 
away,  they  surrounded  him  more  closely. 

Toby  watched  anxiously  as  each  wagon  came 


Mr.  Stubbss  Brother.  83 

up,  and  he  failed  to  recognize  any  of  the  drivers. 
For  the  first  time  it  occurred  to  him  that  perhaps 
those  whom  he  knew  were  no  longer  with  this 
particular  company,  and  his  elation  gave  way  to 
sadness. 

Fully  twenty  wagons  had  come,  and  he  had 
just  begun  to  think  his  fears  had  good  foundation, 
when  in  the  distance  he  saw  the  well-remembered 
monkey- wagon,  with  the  burly  form  of  old  Ben  on 
the  box. 

Toby  could  not  wait  for  that  particular  team  to 
come  up,  even  though  it  was  driven  at  a  reason- 
ably rapid  speed;  but  he  started  towards  it  as 
fast  as  he  could  run,  and,  following  him  some- 
thing like  the  tail  of  a  comet,  were  all  his  friends, 
who,  having  come  so  far,  were  determined  not  to 
lose  sight  of  him  for  a  single  instant,  if  it  could 
be  prevented  by  any  exertions  on  their  part 

Old  Ben  was  driving  in  a  sleepy  sort  of  way, 
and  paid  no  attention  to  the  little  fellow  who  was 
running  towards  him,  until  Toby  shouted,  and 


84  Mr.  Stubbs's  Brother. 

then  the  horses  were  stopped  with  a  jerk  that 
nearly  threw  them  back  on  their  haunches. 

"  Well,  Toby,  my  son  !  I  declare,  I  am  glad  to 
see  you;"  and  old  Ben  reached  down  for  the 
double  purpose  of  shaking  hands  and  helping  the 
boy  on  to  the  seat  beside  him.  "  Well,  well,  well, 
it's  been  some  time  since  you've  been  on  this  'ere 
box,  hain't  it  ?  I'd  kinder  forgotten  what  town  it 
was  we  took  you  from ;  I  knew  it  was  somewhere 
hereabouts  though,  an'  I've  kept  my  eye  peeled 
for  you  ever  since  we've  been  in  this  part  of 
the  country.  So  you  found  your  Uncle  Dan'l  all 
right,  did  you  ?" 

"  Yes,  Ben,  an'  he  was  awful  good  to  me  when 
I  got  home ;  but  Mr.  Stubbs  got  shot." 

"No?  you  don't  tell  me!  How  did  that  hap- 
pen  ?" 

Then  Toby  told  the  story  of  his  pet's  death, 
and,  although  it  had  occurred  a  year  before,  he 
could  not  keep  the  tears  from  his  eyes  as  he  spoke 
of  it 


Mr.  Sfudbs's  Brother.  87 

"You  mustn't  feel  bad  'bout  it,  Toby,"  said 
Ben,  consolingly, u  for,  you  see,  monkeys  has  got  to 
die  jeat  like  folks,  an'  your  Stubbs  was  sich  a  old 
feller  that  I  reckon  he'd  died  anyhow  before  long. 
But  IVe  got  one  in  the  wagon  here  that  looks  a 
good  deal  like  yours,  an'  I'll  show  him  to  you." 

As  Ben  spoke  he  drew  his  wagon,  now  com- 
pletely surrounded  by  boys,  up  by  the  side  of  the 
road  near  the  others,  and  opened  the  panel  in  the 
top  so  that  Toby  could  have  a  view  of  his  pas- 
sengers. 

Curled  up  in  the  corner  nearest  the  roof,  where 
Mr.  Stubbs  had  been  in  the  habit  of  sitting,  Toby 
saw,  as  Ben  had  said,  a  monkey  that  looked  re- 
markably like  Mr.  Stubbs,  save  that  he  was 
younger  and  not  so  sedate. 

Toby  uttered  an  exclamation  of  surprise  and 
joy  as  he  pushed  his  hand  through  the  bars  of 
the  cage,  and  the  monkey  shook  hands  with  him 
as  Mr.  Stubbs  used  to  do  when  greeted  in  the 
morning. 


88  Mr.  Stubbss  Brother. 

"  Why,  I  never  knew  before  that  Mr.  Stubbs 
had  any  relations!"  said  Toby,  looking  around 
with  joy  imprinted  on  every  feature.  "  Do  you 
know  where  the  rest  of  the  family  is,  Ben  ?" 

There  was  no  reply  from  the  driver  for  some 
time;  but  instead,  Toby  heard  certain  familiar 
sounds  as  if  the  old  man  were  choking,  while  his 
face  took  on  the  purplish  tinge  which  had  so 
alarmed  the  boy  when  he  saw  it  for  the  first  time. 

"No,  I  don't  know  where  his  family  is,"  said 
Ben,  after  he  had  recovered  from  his  spasm  of 
silent  laughter,  "  an'  I  reckon  he  don't  know  nor 
care.  Say,  Toby,  you  don't  really  think  this  one 
is  any  relation  to  your  monkey,  do  you  ?" 

"  Why,  it  must  be  his  brother,"  said  Toby, 
earnestly, "  'cause  they  look  so  much  alike ;  but 
perhaps  Mr.  Stubbs  was  only  his  cousin." 

Old  Ben  relapsed  into  another  spasm,  and  Toby 
talked  to  the  monkey,  who  chattered  back  at  him, 
until  the  boys  on  the  ground  were  in  a  perfect 
ferment  of  anxiety  to  know  what  was  going  on. 


Mr.  Stubbss  Brother.  89 

It  was  some  time  before  Toby  could  be  per- 
suaded to  pay  attention  to  anything  else,  so  en- 
grossed was  he  with  Mr.  Stubbs's  brother,  as  he 
persisted  in  calling  the  monkey,  and  the  only 
way  Ben  could  engage  him  in  conversation  was 
by  saying, 

"You  don't  seem  to  be  very  much  afraid  of 
Job  Lord  now." 

"  You  won't  let  him  take  me  away  if  he  should 
try,  will  you  ?"  Toby  asked,  quickly,  alarmed  at 
the  very  mention  of  his  former  employer's  name, 
even  though  he  had  thought  he  would  not  be 
afraid  of  him,  protected  as  he  now  was  by  Uncle 
Daniel. 

"  No,  Toby,  I  wouldn't  let  him  if  he  was  to  try 
it  on,  for  you  are  just  where  every  boy  ought  to 
be,  an'  that's  at  home ;  but  Job's  where  he  can't 
whip  any  more  boys  for  some  time  to  come." 

"Where's  that?" 

"  He's  in  jail.  About  a  month  after  you  left 
be  licked  his  new  boy  so  bad  that  they  arrested 


go  Mr.  Stubbss  Brother. 

him,  an'  he  got  two  years  for  it,  'cause  it  pretty 
nigh  made  a  cripple  out  of  the  youngster." 

Toby  was  about  to  make  some  reply ;  but  Ben 
continued  unfolding  his  budget  of  news. 

"  Castle  stayed  with  us  till  the  season  was  over, 
an'  then  he  went  out  West.  I  don't  know  wheth- 
er he  got  his  hair  cut  trying  to  show  the  Injuns 
how  to  ride,  or  not ;  but  he  never  come  back,  an' 
nobody  I  ever  saw  has  heard  anything  about 
him." 

"Are  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Treat  with  the  show?" 

"  Yes,  they're  still  here ;  he's  a  leetle  thinner, 
I  believe,  an'  she's  twenty  pound  heavier.  She 
says  she  weighs  fifty  pounds  more'n  she  did ;  but 
I  don't  believe  that,  even  if  she  did  strike  for  five 
dollars  more  a  week  this  season  on  the  strength 
of  it,  an'  get  it.  They  keep  right  on  cookin'  up 
dinners,  an'  invitin'  of  folks  in,  an'  the  skeleton 
gets  choked  about  the  same  as  when  you  was 
with  the  show.  I  don't  know  how  it  is  that  a 
feller  so  thin  as  Treat  is  can  eat  so  much." 


Mr.  Stubbss  Brother.  91 

a  Uncle  Dan'l  says  it's  'cause  he  works  so  hard 
to  get  full,"  said  Toby,  quietly,  "  an'  I  shouldn't 
wonder  if  I  grew  as  thin  as  the  skeleton  one 
of  these  days,  for  I  eat  jest  as  awful  much  as  I 
used  to." 

"  Well,  you  look  as  if  you  got  about  all  you 
needed,  at  any  rate,"  said  Ben,  as  he  mentally 
compared  the  plump  boy  at  his  side  with  the 
thin,  frightened-looking  one  who  had  run  away 
from  the  circus  with  his  monkey  on  his  shoulder 
and  his  bundle  under  his  arm. 

"  Is  Ella  here  ?"  asked  Toby,  after  a  pause,  dur- 
ing which  it  seemed  as  if  he  were  thinking  of 
much  the  same  thing  that  Ben  was. 

"Yes,  an'  she  keeps  talkin'  about  what  big 
cards  you  an'  her  would  have  been  if  you  had 
only  stayed  with  the  show.  But  I'm  glad  you  had 
pluck  enough  to  run  away,  Toby,  for  a  life  like 
this  hain't  no  fit  one  for  boys." 

"  And  I  was  glad  to  get  back  to  Uncle  Dan'l," 
said  Toby,  with  a  great  deal  of  emphasis.  "  I 


92  Mr.  Stubbss  Brother. 

wouldn't  go  away  without  he  wanted  me  to,  if  I 
could  go  with  a  circus  seven  times  as  large  as 
this.  Do  you  suppose  young  Stubbs  would  act 
bad  if  I  was  to  take  him  for  a  walk  ?" 

"  Who  ?"  asked  Ben,  looking  down  at  the  crowd 
of  boys  with  no  slight  show  of  perplexity. 

"  Mr.  Stubbs's  brother,"  and  Toby  motioned  to 
the  door  of  the  cage.  "  I'd  like  to  take  him  up 
in  my  arms,  'cause  it  would  seem  so  much  like  it 
used  to  before  his  brother  died." 

Ben  was  seized  with  one  of  the  very  worst 
laughing  spasms  Toby  had  ever  seen,  and  there 
was  every  danger  that  he  would  roll  off  the  seat 
before  he  could  control  himself;  but  he  did  re- 
cover after  a  time,  and  as  the  purple  hue  slowly 
receded  from  his  face,  he  said : 

"  I'll  tell  you  what  we'll  do,  Toby.  You  come 
to  the  tent  when  the  afternoon  performance  is 
over,  an'  I'll  fix  it  so's  you  shall  see  Mr.  Stubbs's 
brother  as  much  as  you  want  to." 

Just  then  Toby  remembered  that  Ben  was  to 


Mr.  Stubbss  Brother.  93 

be  his  guest  for  a  while  that  day,  and,  at'ter  ex- 
plaining all  Aunt  Olive  had  done  in  the  way  of 
preparing  dainties,  invited  him  to  dinner. 

"  I'll  come,  Toby,  because  it's  to  see  you  an' 
them  that  has  been  good  to  you,"  said  Ben,  slow- 
ly, and  after  quite  a  long  pause :  "  but  there  hain't 
anybody  else  I  know  of  who  could  coax  me  out  to 
dinner ;  for,  you  see,  rough  fellows  like  me  hain't 
fit  to  go  around  much,  except  among  our  own 
kind.  But  say,  Toby,  your  Uncle  Dan'l  hain't 
right  on  his  speech,  is  he  ?" 

Toby  looked  so  puzzled  that  Ben  saw  he  had 
not  been  understood,  and  he  explained : 

"  I  mean,  he  don't  get  up  a  dinner  for  the  sake 
of  havin'  a  chance  to  make  a  speech,  like  the  skel- 
eton, does  he,  eh  ?" 

"  Oh  no,  Uncle  Dan'l  don't  do  that.  I  know 
you'll  like  him  when  you  see  him." 

"  And  I  believe  I  shall,  Toby,"  said  Ben,  speak-* 
ing  very  seriously ;  "  I'd  be  sure  to,  because  he's 
such  a  good  uncle  to  you." 


94  Mr.  Stubbss  Brother. 

Just  then  the  conversation  was  interrupted  by 
the  orders  to  prepare  for  the  parade ;  and  as  the 
manager  drove  up  to  see  that  everything  was 
done  properly,  he  stopped  to  speak  with  and  con- 
gratulate Toby  on  being  at  home  again,  a  conde- 
scension on  his  part  that  caused  a  lively  feeling 
of  envy  in  the  breasts  of  the  other  boys,  because 
they  had  not  been  so  honored. 


CHAPTER  VII. 

ATTRACTIONS  FOR  THE  LITTLE   CIRCUS. 

WHILE  he  stood  there,  the  wagon  in  which  the 
skeleton  and  his  wife  travelled  rolled  past;  but 
Toby  knew  they  were  still  sleeping,  and  would 
continue  to  do  so  until  their  tent  was  ready  for 
them  to  go  into. 

The  carriage  in  which  the  women  of  the  com- 
pany rode  also  passed  him,  and  he  almost  fancied 
he  could  see  Ella  sitting  in  one  of  the  seats  sleep- 
ing with  her  head  on  her  mother's  shoulder,  as 
she  had  slept  on  the  stormy  night  when  his  head 
was  nearly  jerked  from  his  body  as  he  tried  to 
sleep  while  sitting  upright. 

There  were  but  three  of  the  drivers  who  had 
been  with  the  circus  the  year  before,  and,  after 


g6  Mr.  Stubbss  Brother. 

speaking  with  them,  he  stood  by  the  side  of  the 
road,  and  watched  the  preparations  for  the  entree 
with  feelings  far  different  from  those  with  which 
he  had  observed  such  preparations  in  that  dreary 
time  when  he  expected  each  moment  to  hear  Job 
Lord  order  him  to  attend  to  his  work. 

The  other  boys  crowded  quite  as  close  to  him 
as  they  could  get,  as  if  by  this  means  they  allied 
themselves  in  some  way  with  the  show ;  and  when 
a  drove  of  ponies  were  led  past,  Joe  Robinson 
said,  longingly : 

"  There,  Toby,  if  we  had  one  or  two  of  them 
to  train,  it  would  be  different  work  from  what  it 
is  to  make  the  Douglass  hoss  remember  his  way 
round  the  ring." 

"  You  wouldn't  have  to  train  them  any,"  began 
Toby ;  and  then  he  had  no  time  to  say  anything 
more,  for  Ben,  who  had  been  talking  with  the 
manager,  called  to  him. 

"  Has  your  Uncle  Dan'l  got  plenty  of  pastur 
age  ?"  asked  Ben,  when  the  boy  approached  him 


Mr.  Stubbss  Brother.  97 

"  Well,  he's  got  twenty  acres  up  by  the  stone 
quarry,  an'  he  keeps  three  cows  on  it,  an'  Jack 
Douglass's  hoss,  that  don't  count,  for  he's  only 
there  till  we  boys  have  our  circus,"  said  Toby, 
never  for  a  moment  dreaming  of  the  good  fort- 
une that  was  in  store  for  him. 

"  So  you're  goin'  to  have  a  circus  of  your  own, 
eh  2"  asked  Ben,  with  a  smile  that  alarmed  Toby, 
because  he  feared  it  was  a  signal  for  one  of  those 
terrible  laughing  spells. 

"We're  only  goin'  to  have  a  little  three-cent 
one,"  replied  Toby,  modestly,  noting  with  satis- 
faction that  Ben's  mirth  had  gone  no  further  than 
the  smile. 

"Two  of  our  ponies  are  about  used  up,"  said 
the  manager,  "  and  we've  got  to  leave  them  some- 
where. Ben  tells  me  he  is  going  to  see  your 
Uncle  Dan'l  this  noon,  so  suppose  you  take  one 
of  these  boys  and  ride  them  up  to  the  pasture. 
Ben  will  make  a  bargain  with  your  uncle  for 
their  keeping,  and  you  can  use  them  in  your 

circus  if  you  want  to." 

i 


98  Mr*  Stubbss  Brother. 

Joe  Robinson  actually  jumped  for  joy  as  he 
heard  this,  and  Toby's  delight  spread  itself  all 
over  his  face,  while  Bob  Atwood  and  Ben  Gush- 
ing went  near  the  fence,  where  they  stood  on 
their  heads  as  a  way  of  expressing  their  elation 
at  thus  being  able  to  have  real  live  ponies  in 
their  circus. 

A  black  and  a  red  pony  were  the  ones  pointed 
out  for  Toby  to  take  away,  and  they  were  not 
more  than  twice  as  large  as  Newfoundland  dogs ; 
they  were,  in  fact,  just  exactly  what  was  wanted 
for  a  little  circus  such  as  the  boys  were  about  to 
start. 

Joe  was  so  puffed  up  with  pride  at  being  al- 
lowed to  ride  one  of  these  ponies  through  the  vil- 
lage that  if  his  mind  could  have  affected  his  body 
he  would  not  have  weighed  more  than  a  pound, 
and  he  held  his  head  so  high  that  it  seemed  a 
matter  of  impossibility  for  him  to  see  his  feet. 

Very  much  surprised  were  Uncle  Daniel  and 
Aunt  Olive  at  seeing  Toby  and  Joe  dash  into  the 


•  Mr.  Stubbs*s  Brother.  99 

yard  astride  of  these  miniature  horses,  just  as 
they  were  sitting  down  to  breakfast;  and  when 
the  matter  had  been  explained,  Abner  appeared 
quite  as  much  pleased  that  the  boys  would  have 
this  attraction  in  their  circus  as  if  he  were  the 
sole  proprietor  of  it. 

It  was  with  the  greatest  reluctance  that  either 
of  the  boys  left  his  pony  in  the  stable-yard  and 
sat  down  to  breakfast,  so  eager  was  Joe  to  get 
back  to  the  tenting-ground  to  see  what  was  go- 
ing on,  and  so  anxious  was  Toby  to  see  the  skele- 
ton and  his  wife  as  soon  as  possible.  But  they 
ate  because  Uncle  Daniel  insisted  that  they  should 
do  so ;  and,  when  breakfast  was  over,  he  advised 
that  the  ponies  be  left  in  the  stable  until  Chandler 
Merrill's  pony  could  be  removed  from  the  pasture. 

When  they  started  down  town  again,  Abner 
went  with  them,  and  it  was  so  late  in  the  morn- 
ing that  Toby  was  sure  the  skeleton  and  his 
wife  would  be  prepared  to  receive  visitors. 

When  Toby,  Abner,  and  Joe  reached  the  tent- 


ioo  Mr.  Stubbss  Brother.   - 

ing -ground,  everything  was  in  that  delightful 
state  of  bustle  and  confusion  which  is  attendant 
upon  the  exhibition  of  a  circus  in  a  country 
town,  where  the  company  do  not  expect  that  the 
tent  will  be  more  than  half  filled,  and  where,  in 
consequence,  the  programme  will  be  considerably 
shortened. 

It  did  not  require  much  search  on  Toby's  part 
to  find  the  tent  wherein  the  skeleton  and  his  wife 
exhibited  their  contrasting  figures,  for  the  pictures 
which  hung  outside  were  so  gaudy,  and  of  such 
an  unusually  large  size,  that  they  commanded  the 
attention  of  every  visitor. 

"  Now  I'm  goin'  in  to  see  'em,"  said  Toby,  first 
making  sure  that  the  exhibition  had  not  begun ; 
"an'  Joe,  you  take  Abner  over  so's  he  can  see 
how  Nahum  Baker  keeps  a  stand,  an'  then  he'll 
know  what  to  do  when  we  have  our  circus.  I'll 
come  back  here  for  you  pretty  soon." 

Then  Toby  ran  around  to  the  rear  of  the  tent, 
where  he  knew  he  would  find  a  private  entrance, 


*. 

Mr.  Stubbss  Brother.  101 

thus  running  less  risk  of  receiving  a  blow  on  the 
head  from  some  watchful  attendant,  and  in  a  few 
moments  he  stood  before  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Treat,  who, 
having  just  completed  their  preparations,  were 
about  to  announce  that  the  exhibition  could  be 
opened. 

"Why,  Toby  Tyler,  you  dear  little  thing!" 
cried  the  enormous  lady,  in  a  joyful  tone,  after 
she  had  looked  at  the  boy  intently  for  a  moment, 
to  make  sure  he  was  really  the  one  whom  she 
had  rescued  several  times  from  Job  Lord's  brutal- 
ity ;  and  then  she  took  him  in  her  fat  arms,  hug- 
ging him  much  as  if  he  were  a  lemon  and  she 
an  unusually  large  squeezer.  "  Where  did  you 
come  from  ?  How  have  you  been  2  Did  you  find 
your  Uncle  Daniel  ?" 

Her  embrace  was  so  vigorous  that  it  was  some 
seconds  after  she  had  released  him  before  he 
could  make  any  reply ;  and  while  he  was  trying 
to  get  his  breath  the  fleshless  Mr.  Treat  took  him 
solemnly  by  the  hand,  and  cleared  his  throat  as 


IO2  Mr.  Stubbss  Brother. 

if  he  were  determined  to  take  advantage  of  the 
occasion  to  make  one  of  his  famous  speeches. 

"  My  dear  Mr.  Tyler,"  he  said,  squeezing  Toby's 
hand  until  it  ached,  "  it  is  almost  impossible  for 
me  to  express  the  joy  I  feel  at  meeting  you  once 
more.  We — Lilly  and  I — have  looked  forward 
to  such  a  moment  as  this  with  a  great  deal  of 
impatience,  and  even  during  our  most  prosperous 
exhibitions  we  have  found  time  to  speak  of  you." 

"There,  there,  Samuel,  don't  take  up  so  much 
time  with  your  long-winded  talk,  but  let  me  see 
the  dear  little  fellow  myself;"  and  Mrs.  Treat  lift- 
ed her  slim  husband  into  a  chair,  where  he  was 
out  of  her  way,  and  again  greeted  Toby  by  kiss- 
ing him  on  both  cheeks  with  a  resounding  smack 
that  rivalled  anything  Reddy  Grant  had  yet  been 
able  to  do  in  the  way  of  cracking  his  whip. 

Then  she  fairly  overwhelmed  him  with  ques- 
tions, nor  would  she  allow  her  husband  to  say  a 
word  until  Toby  had  answered  them  all.  He  was 
again  obliged  to  tell  the  story  of  Mr.  Stubbs's 


Mr.  Stubbs's  Brother.  103 

death ;  of  his  return  home,  and  everything  con- 
nected with  his  running -away  from  the  circus; 
while  all  the  time  the  fat  lady  alternately  kissed 
and  hugged  him,  until  it  seemed  as  if  he  would 
never  be  able  to  finish  his  story. 

"  And,  now  that  you  are  home  again,  don't  ever 
think  of  running  away,  even  though  I  must  ad- 
mit that  you  made  a  wonderful  success  in  the 
ring;"  and  Mr.  Treat  crossed  one  leg  over  the 
other  in  a  triumphant  way,  pleased  that  he  had 
at  last  succeeded  in  getting  a  chance  to  speak. 

Toby  was  very  emphatic  in  his  assurances  that 
he  should  never  run  away  again,  for  he  had  had 
quite  as  much  experience  in  that  way  as  he 
wanted ;  and,  after  he  had  finished,  Mrs.  Treat,  by 
way  of  further  showing  her  joy  at  meeting  him 
once  more,  brought  out  from  a  large  black  trunk 
fully  half  a  dozen  doughnuts,  each  quite  as  large 
among  their  kind  as  she  was  among  women. 

"  Now  eat  every  one  of  them,"  she  said,  as  she 
handed  them  to  Toby, "  an'  it  will  do  me  good  to 


IO4  Mr.  Stubbss  Brother. 

see  you,  for  you  always  used  to  be  such  a  hungry 
little  fellow." 

Toby  had  already  had  two  breakfasts  that 
morning,  but  he  did  not  wish  to  refuse  the  kindly 
proffered  gift,  and  he  made  every  effort  to  do 
as  she  had  requested,  though  one  of  the  cakes 
would  have  been  quite  a  feast  for  him  at  his 
hungriest  moment. 

The  food  reminded  him  of  the  dinner-invita- 
tion he  was  to  deliver,  and,  as  he  forced  down 
the  rather  heavy  cake,  he  said : 

"Aunt  Olive's  killed  a  lamb,  an'  made  an  aw- 
ful lot  of  things  for  dinner  to-day,  an'  Uncle 
Dan'l  says  he'd  be  glad  to  have  you  come  up. 
Ben's  comin',  an'  I'm  goin'  to  find  Ella,  so's  to 
have  her  come,  an'  we'll  have  a  good  time." 

"  Lilly  an'  I  will  be  pleased  to  see  your  aunt's 
lamb,  and  we  shall  be  delighted  to  meet  your 
Uncle  Daniel,"  replied  the  skeleton,  before  his 
wife  could  speak,  and  then  a  "  far  -  away "  look 
came  into  his  eyes,  as  if  he  could  already  taste,  or 


Mr.  Stubbss  Brother.  105 

at  least  smell,  the  feast  in  which  he  was  certain 
he  should  take  so  much  pleasure. 

"That's  just  the  way  with  Samuel,"  said  Mrs. 
Treat,  as  if  she  would  offer  some  apology  for  the 
almost  greedy  way  in  which  her  husband  accept- 
ed the  invitation ;  "  he's  always  thinking  so  much 
about  eating  that  I'm  afraid  he'll  begin  to  fat  up, 
and  then  I  shall  have  to  support  both  of  us." 

"  Now,  my  dear" — and  Mr.  Treat  used  a  tone  of 
mild  reproof — "  why  should  you  have  such  ideas, 
and  why  express  them  before  our  friend,  Mr.  Ty- 
ler ?  I've  eaten  considerable,  perhaps,  at  times ; 
but  during  ten  years  you  have  never  seen  me 
grow  an  ounce  the  fatter,  and  surely  I  have  grown 
some  leaner  in  that  time." 

"  Yes,  yes,  Sammy,  I  know  it,  and  you  shall  eat 
all  you  can  get,  only  try  not  to  show  that  you 
think  so  much  about  it."  Then,  turning  to  Toby, 
she  said,  "  He's  such  a  trial,  Sam  is.  We'll  go  to 
see  your  uncle,  Toby,  and  we  should  be  very  glad 
to  do  so  even  if  we  wasn't  going  for  dinner." 


106  Mr.  Stubbs's  Brother. 

"  Ben  an'  me  will  come  'round  when  it's  time 
to  go,"  said  Toby,  and  then,  in  a  hesitating  way, 
he  added,  "  Abner's  out  here — he's  a  cripple  that 
lives  out  to  the  poor-farm — an'  he  never  saw  a 
circus  or  anything.  Can't  I  bring  him  in  here  a 
minute  before  you  open  the  show  ?" 

"Of  course  you  can,  Toby,  my  dear,  and  you 
may  bring  all  your  friends.  We'll  give  an  exhi- 
bition especially  for  them.  We  haven't  got  a 
sword -swallower  this  year,  and  the  albino  chil- 
dren that  you  used  to  know  have  had  to  leave 
the  business,  because  albinos  got  so  plenty  they 
couldn't  earn  their  salt;  but  we've  got  a  new 
snake  -  charmer,  and  a  man  without  legs,  and  a 
bearded  lady,  so — " 

"So  that  our  entertainment  is  quite  as  morally 
effective  and  instructively  entertaining  as  ever," 
said  Mr.  Treat,  interrupting  his  wife  to  speak  a 
good  word  for  the  exhibition. 

Toby  ran  out  quickly,  that  he  might  not  delay 
the  regular  business  any  longer  than  was  abso- 


Mr.  Stubbs's  Brother.  107 

lutely  necessary;  and  at  the  very  entrance  of  the 
tent,  looking  at  the  pictures  in  wonder  that  al- 
most amounted  to  awe,  he  found  Abner  with  his 
partners,  and  about  a  dozen  other  boys. 

"Come  right  in  quick,  fellers,"  said  Toby, 
breathlessly,  "  an'  you  can  see  the  whole  show 
before  it  commences." 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

THE   DINNER  PARTY. 

THE  invitation  was  no  sooner  given  than  ac- 
cepted ;  and  in  a  twinkling  every  one  of  those 
boys  was  inside  the  tent,  looking  at  the  skele- 
ton and  the  fat  woman  as  though  they  had  been 
old  acquaintances. 

Toby  had  told  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Treat  of  the  little 
circus  they  were  intending  to  have,  and  he  intro- 
duced to  them  his  partners  in  the  enterprise. 

The  fleshy  Lilly  smiled  encouragingly  upon 
them,  and  the  skeleton,  moving  his  chair  slightly 
to  prevent  his  wife  from  interrupting  him,  said : 

"  I  am  pleased  to  meet  you,  gentlemen,  princi- 
pally, and  I  might  almost  say  wholly,  because 
you  are  the  friends  of  my  old  friend,  Mr.  Tyler. 


Mr.  Stubbss  Brother.  1 1 1 

Whatever  business  relations  you  may  have  with 
him,  whether  in  the  great  profession  of  the  circus, 
or  in  the  humbler  walks  of  life,  I  am*  sure  he  will 
honor  the  connection." 

From  appearances  Mr.  Treat  would  have  con- 
tinued to  talk  for  some  time,  but  his  wife  passed 
around  more  doughnuts,  and  the  attention  of  the 
visitors  was  so  distracted  that  he  was  obliged  to 
stop. 

"  And  this  is  Abner,"  said  Toby,  taking  advan- 
tage of  the  break  in  the  skeleton's  speech  to  lead 
forward  his  crippled  friend. 

Abner  limped  blushingly  towards  the  gigantic 
lady,  and  when  both  she  and  her  thin  husband 
spoke  to  him  kindly,  he  was  so  covered  with  con- 
fusion at  the  honor  thus  showered  upon  him  that 
he  was  hardly  able  to  say  a  word. 

But  the  time  was  passing  rapidly,  and  as 
there  were  many  persons  outside,  probably,  wait- 
ing for  an  opportunity  to  pay  their  money  to 
see  the  varied  attractions,  of  the  show,  Mrs. 


1 1 2  Mr.  Stubbss  Brother. 

Treat  gave  the  signal  for  the  snake-charmer  to 
begin  the  entertainment,  which  was  given  as  a 
mark  of  respect,  as  the  skeleton  explained,  to 
their  friend  Toby  Tyler. 

This  private  exhibition  lasted  about  fifteen 
minutes,  and  when,  at  its  close,  the  doors  were 
thrown  open  to  such  of  the  public  as  were  will- 
ing to  pay  to  come  in,  the  boys  were  not  at  all 
anxious  to  leave. 

"  Let  them  stay  as  long  as  they  want  to,  Toby," 
said  the  skeleton  indulgently. 

The  boys  were  only  too  glad  to  avail  them- 
selves of  this  permission,  and  Toby  said  to  Abner : 

"  I  want  to  see  if  I  can  find  Ella,  an'  you  stay 
here  till  I  come  back." 

"  I'll  keep  him  right  here  by  me,"  said  Mrs. 
Treat,  "  and  he'll  be  safe  enough." 

Remembering  how  she  had  served  Job  Lord, 
Toby  had  no  fears  for  the  safety  of  his  friend ;  he 
went  at  once,  therefore,  to  deliver  the  invitation 
to  the  last  of  Aunt  Olive's  expected  guests. 


Mr.  StubbJs  Brother.  113 

When,  after  some  little  time,  Toby  returned, 
the  boys  had  satisfied  their  curiosity  so  far  as  the 
side-show  was  concerned,  and  all  except  Abner 
had  left  the  tent. 

That  he  had  found  Ella  was  evident,  as  that 
young  lady  herself  skipped  along  by  his  side  in 
the  greatest  possible  delight  at  having  met  her 
former  riding  companion ;  and  that  she  had  ac- 
cepted his  invitation  to  dinner  was  shown  by  the 
scrupulous  care  with  which  she  was  dressed. 

"  It's  time  to  go  up  to  Uncle  Dan'Ps,"  Toby 
whispered  to  Mrs.  Treat,  "an'  Ben's  harnessin' 
the  hosses  into  your  wagon,  so's  you  won't  have 
to  go  to  the  trouble  of  puttin'  on  your  other 
clothes." 

"  I  don't  know  as  we  ought  to  go  up  there  in 
this  rig,"  said  Mrs.  Treat  doubtfully,  as  she  look- 
ed down  at  her  "  show  dress,"  made  to  display 
her  arms  and  neck  to  the  greatest  advantage,  and 
then  at  her  husband's  costume,  which  was  as  scanty 
as  his  body.  "I  wanted  to  dress  up  when  we 


U4  Mr.  Stubbss  Brother. 

went  there;  but  I  don't  see  how  I'll  get  the 
chance  to  do  it." 

"  I  wouldn't  bother,  'cause  Uncle  Dan'l  will 
like  you  jest  as  well  that  way,  an'  it  will  take 
you  too  long,"  said  Toby  impatiently. 

The  skeleton,  on  being  consulted  as  to  the 
matter,  decided  to  do  as  Toby  wished,  because 
by  adopting  that  course  they  would  the  sooner 
get  the  dinner  about  which  he  had  been  think- 
ing ever  since  he  had  received  the  invitation. 

But  while  Mrs. Treat  was  ready  to  believe  that 
her  costume  might  be  reasonably  fit  to  wear  to  a 
dinner  party,  she  was  certain  that  something  more 
than  tights  and  a  pair  of  short,  red  velvet  trousers 
was  necessary  for  her  husband. 

Mr.  Treat  tried  to  argue  with  his  much  larger 
half,  insisting  that  Uncle  Daniel  would  under- 
stand the  matter ;  but  his  wife  insisted  so  strong- 
ly, and  with  such  determination  to  have  her 
own  way,  that  he  compromised  by  adding  to  his 
scanty  wardrobe  a  black  frock-coat  and  a  tall 


Mr.  Stubbs's  Brother.  115 

silk  hat,  which  gave  him  a  rather  more  comical 
than  distinguished  appearance. 

The  audience  were  dismissed  as  soon  as  pos- 
sible; Abner  was  helped  into  the  wagon,  per- 
fectly delighted  at  being  allowed  to  ride  in  a 
circus  van,  and  the  party  started  for  Uncle 
Daniel's. 

Toby  sat  on  the  box  with  Ben,  to  show  him 
the  way ;  and  when  the  gaudily  painted  cart 
stopped  in  front  of  the  farm-house,  it  was  much 
as  if  a  peacock  had  suddenly  alighted  amid  a 
flock  of  demure  hens. 

Uncle  Daniel  was  out  in  the  yard  to  receive 
his  strangely  assorted  guests,  and  the  greeting 
they  received  from  both  him  and  Aunt  Olive 
was  as  hearty  as  if  they  had  been  old  acquaint- 
ances. 

There  was  a  look  of  calm  satisfaction  on  the 
skeleton's  face  as  the  odor  of  roast  lamb  was 
mingled  with  Uncle  Daniel's  welcome  when  he 
descended  from  the  wagon ;  and  as  the  company 


1 1 6  Mr.  Slubbs's  Brother. 

were  ushered  into  the  "  fore-room,"  the  air  of 
which  was  pungent  with  the  odors  of  herbs  used 
to  keep  the  moths  from  carpet  and  furniture,  a 
restful  feeling  came  over  them  such  as  only  those 
whose  lives  are  dreary  rounds  of  travelling  can 
feel. 

Uncle  Daniel  insisted  on  taking  care  of  the 
horses  himself,  for  his  idea  of  the  duties  of  host 
would  not  allow  that  Ben  should  help  him,  and 
almost  as  soon  as  he  had  finished  this  work  din- 
ner was  ready. 

When  all  the  guests  were  at  the  table,  and 
Uncle  Daniel  bowed  his  head  to  invoke  a  bless- 
ing on  those  who  had  befriended  the  fatherless, 
the  look  of  general  discomfort  old  Ben  had  worn 
from  the  time  he  reached  the  house  passed  away, 
and  in  its  place  came  the  peaceful  look  Toby  had 
seen  on  Sundays  after  the  old  driver  had  come 
from  church. 

It  seemed  to  Toby  that  he  had  never  really 
known  Uncle  Daniel  before,  so  jolly  was  he  in  his 


Mr.  Stubbs's  Brother.  119 

efforts  to  entertain  his  guests ;  and  the  manner  in 
which  he  portioned  out  the  food,  keeping  the 
plates  well  filled  all  the  time,  was  in  the  highest 
degree  pleasing  to  Mr.  Treat. 

Of  course  very  much  was  said  about  the  time 
when  Toby  was  an  unwilling  member  of  the  cir- 
cus, and  Mrs.  Treat  and  Ben  told  of  the  boy's 
experiences  in  a  way  that  brought  many  a  blush 
to  his  cheeks.  Mr.  Treat  was  too  busy  with  Aunt 
Olive's  lamb,  as  he  affectionately  spoke  of  it,  to 
be  able  to  say  anything;  he  was  wonderfully 
fortunate  in  not  choking  himself  but  once,  and 
that  was  such  a  trifling  matter  that  it  was  all 
over  in  a  moment. 

Old  Ben  told  Toby  that  night,  however,  that 
Treat  would  not  have  got  on  so  well,  if  his  wife 
had  not  trodden  on  his  toes  frequently,  as  a  hint 
to  eat  more  slowly. 

Although  Abner  had  spent  several  hours  in 
the  side-show,  it  seemed  as  if  he  would  never 
tire  of  gazing  at  Mrs.  Treat's  enormous  frame, 


1 20  Mr.  Stubbss  Brother. 

and  so  intently  did  he  look  at  her  that  he  missed 
a  good  chance  of  getting  a  second  piece  of  cus- 
tard pie,  though  Toby  nudged  him  several  times 
to  intimate  that  he  could  have  more  as  well 
as  not. 

Ben  told  a  number  of  stories  of  circus  life; 
Mrs.  Treat  related  some  of  her  experiences  in 
trying  to  prevent  her  husband  from  eating  too 
fast ;  Ella  told  Aunt  Olive  of  the  home  she  and 
her  mother  lived  in  during  winter ;  and  the  hour 
which  had  been  devoted  to  this  visit  passed  so 
pleasantly  that  every  one  was  sorry  when  it  was 
ended. 

"  You've  got  a  trim  little  farm  here,"  said  Ben 
to  Uncle  Daniel,  when  the  two  went  out  to  har- 
ness the  horses;  "an'  I  reckon  that  a  man  who 
has  got  land  enough  to  support  him  is  fixed  jest 
about  as  well  as  he  can  be.  I  don't  know  of 
anything  I'd  rather  be  than  a  farmer,  if  I  could 
only  get  away  from  circus  life." 

"  Whenever  you  want  to  leave  that  business," 


Mr.  Stubbss  Brother.  1 2 1 

said  Uncle  Daniel  solemnly  and  earnestly, "  you 
come  right  here,  and  I'll  show  you  the  chance  to 
become  a  farmer." 

"  I'd  like  to,"  said  Ben,  with  a  sigh  of  regret 
that  the  matter  seemed  so  impossible ;  "  but  I've 
been  with  &  circus  now,  man  an'  boy,  goin'  on 
forty -one  years,  an'  I  s'pose  I  shall  always  be 
with  one." 

Then  he  changed  the  conversation,  making  an 
arrangement  with  Uncle  Daniel  for  pasturing  the 
ponies  that  were  to  be  left  behind,  and  by  the 
time  the  bargain  was  completed  the  horses  were 
at  the  door. 

While  Uncle  Daniel  and  old  Ben  had  been 
at  the  stables,  Mr.  Treat  had  been  showing  his 
liberality  by  giving  Aunt  Olive  tickets  for  the 
side-show  and  circus,  and  inducing  her  to  prom- 
ise that  she  and  Uncle  Daniel  would  see  both 
shows.  He  had  also  given  Toby  fully  a  dozen 
circus  tickets  for  distribution  among  his  friends; 
and  then,  as  Uncle  Daniel  entered,  he  said : 


122  Mr.  Stubbss  Brother. 

"I  wish  to  express  thanks — both  for  myself 
and  my  wife  Lilly — for  the  very  kind  manner  in 
which  you  have  entertained  us  to-day." 

Before  he  could  say  anything  more  the  others 
came  to  say  good-bye,  and  he  was  disappoint- 
ed again.  Aunt  Olive  kissed  Ella  several  times, 
while  the  parting  with  the  others  was  almost  as 
between  old  friends,  and  the  guests  started  for 
the  tent  again,  more  than  satisfied  with  their 
visit. 

"  Now,  Toby,  you  look  me  up  jest  after  the 
show  is  out  this  afternoon,  an'  we'll  fix  it  so's 
you  shall  have  a  chance  to  talk  with  Mr. 
Stubbs's  brother,"  said  Ben,  as  they  were  driv- 
ing along. 

As  a  matter  of  course  Toby  promised  to  be 
there,  and  to  bring  Abner  with  him. 

"  You  said  that  little  cripple  had  to  live  at 
fche  poor-farm,  didn't  you  T  asked  Ben,  after  quite 
a  long  pause. 

"  Yes,  an'  it's  'cause  he  hain't  got  no  father  or 


Mr.  Stubbss  Brother.  1 23 

mother,  nor  no  Uncle  Dan'l  like  I've  got,"  said 
Toby  sadly. 

"  Hain't  he  got  any  relations  anywhere?" 

"  No ;  Uncle  Dan'l  said  he  didn't  have  a  soul 
that  he  could  go  to." 

"  It  must  be  kinder  hard  for  him  to  live  there 
alone,  an'  I  don't  s'pose  he'll  ever  be  able  to 
walk." 

Toby  was  not  at  all  certain  whether  or  not 
Abner  could  ever  be  cured;  but  he  told  the 
old  driver  what  he  knew  of  the  lonely  life  the 
boy  led.  Ben  did  not  appear  to  hear  what  was 
said,  for  he  was  in  one  of  his  deep  studies 
and  seemed  unconscious  of  everything  except 
the  fact  that  his  horses  were  going  in  the 
proper  direction. 

"I'll  tell  you  what  I'll  do, Toby,"  he  said, after 
remaining  silent  until  they  were  nearly  at  the 
tent.  "I  hain't  got  a  child  or  a  chick  in  the 
world,  an'  I'll  take  care  of  that  boy." 


1 24  Mr.  Stubbss  Brother. 

Toby  looked  up  in  surprise,  as  he  repeated,  in 
a  puzzled  way : 

"  You'll  take  care  of  him  V 

"  I  don't  mean  that  I'll  take  hold  an'  tote  him 
round;  but  he  shall  have  as  much  as  he  needs 
out  of  every  dollar  I  get.  I'll  see  your  Uncle 
Dan'l,  an'  fix  it  somehow  so  he'll  be  taken  out 
of  the  poorhouse." 

"  Why,  Ben,  how  good  you  are !"  and  Toby 
looked  up  at  his  friend  with  sincere  admiration 
imprinted  on  his  face. 

"  It  hain't  'cause  I'm  good,  my  lad ;  but  if  I 
didn't  help  that  poor  fellow  in  some  way,  I'd 
see  them  big  eyes  an'  that  pale  face  of  hisn 
every  night  I  rode  on  this  box  alone ;  so  you  see 
I  only  do  it  for  the  sake  of  havin'  peace,"  said 
Ben,  with  a  forced  laugh ;  and  then  he  stopped 
the  horses  at  the  rear  of  Mr.  Treat's  tent.  "  Now 
you  jump  down,  Toby,  so's  to  see  the  skeleton 
don't  break  himself  all  to  pieces  gettin'  out,  for 
I'm  kinder  'fraid  he  will  some  day.  I'd  rather 


Mr.  Stubbss  Brother.  125 

drive  a   hundred  monkeys  than  one   sich   slim 
man  as  him." 

Then  Ben  had  a  fit  of  internal  laughter  caused 
by  his  own  remark,  and  Uncle  Daniel's  guests 
were  ready  to  resume  their  duties  at  the  circus. 


CHAPTER  IX. 

MR.  STUBBS'S  BROTHER. 

IT  was  so  near  the  time  for  the  circus  to  begin 
that  Toby  was  obliged  to  hurry  considerably  in 
order  to  distribute  among  his  friends  the  tickets 
the  skeleton  had  given  him,  and  he  advised  Ab- 
ner  to  remain  with  Mrs.  Treat  while  he  did  so, 
in  order  to  escape  the  crowd,  among  which  he 
might  get  injured. 

Then  he  gave  his  tickets  to  those  boys  who 
he  knew  had  no  money  with  which  to  buy  any, 
and  so  generous  was  he  that  when  he  had  finish- 
ed he  had  none  for  himself  and  Abner. 

That  he  might  not  be  able  to  witness  the  per- 
formance did  not  trouble  him  very  greatly,  al- 
though it  would  have  been  a  disappointment  not 


Mr.  Stubbss  Brother.  127 

to  see  Ella  ride;  but  he  blamed  himself  very 
much  because  he  had  not  saved  a  ticket  for  Ab- 
ner,  and  he  hurried  to  find  Ben  that  he  might 
arrange  matters  for  him. 

The  old  driver  was  easily  found,  and  still  more 
easily  persuaded  to  grant  the  favor  which  per- 
mitted Abner  to  view  the  wonderful  sights  be- 
neath the  almost  enchanted  canvas. 

From  one  menagerie  wagon  to  another  Toby 
led  his  friend  as  quickly  as  possible,  until  they 
stood  in  front  of  the  monkeys'  cage,  where  Mr. 
Stubbs's  supposed  brother  was  perched  as  high 
as  possible,  away  from  the  common  herd  of  mon- 
keys which  chatted  familiarly  with  every  one  who 
bribed  them. 

Toby  was  in  the  highest  degree  excited;  it 
seemed  as  if  his  pet  that  had  been  killed  was 
again  before  him,  and  he  crowded  his  way  up  to 
the  bars  of  the  cage,  dragging  Abner  with  him, 
until  he  was  where  he  could  have  a  full  view  of 
the  noisy  prisoners. 


128  Mr.  Stubbs' s  Brother. 

Toby  called  to  the  monkey  as  he  had  been  in 
the  habit  of  calling  to  Mr.  Stubbs,  but  now  the 
fellow  paid  no  attention  to  him  whatever;  there 
were  so  many  spectators  that  he  could  not  spend 
his  time  upon  one,  unless  he  were  to  derive  some 
benefit  in  return. 

Fortunately,  so  far  as  his  happiness  was  con- 
cerned, Toby  had  the  means  of  inducing  the  mon- 
key to  visit  him,  for  in  his  pocket  yet  remained 
two  of  the  doughnuts  Mrs.  Treat  had  almost 
forced  upon  him;  and,  remembering  how  fond 
Mr.  Stubbs  had  been  of  such  sweet  food,  he  held 
a  piece  out  to  the  supposed  brother. 

Almost  instantly  that  monkey  made  up  his 
mind  that  the  freckle-faced  boy  with  the  doughnut 
was  the  one  particular  person  whom  he  should 
be  acquainted  with,  and  he  came  down  from  his 
perch  at  a  rapid  rate. 

So  long  as  Toby  was  willing  to  feed  him  with 
doughnuts  he  was  willing  to  remain ;  but  when 
his  companions  gathered  around  in  such  numbers 


Mr.  Stubbss  Brother.  129 

that  the  supply  of  food  was  quickly  exhausted, 
he  went  back  to  his  lofty  perch,  much  to  the 
boy's  regret. 

"  He  looks  like  Mr.  Stubbs,  and  he  acts  like 
him,  an'  it  must  be  his  brother  sure,"  said  Toby 
to  himself  as  Abner  hurried  him  away  to  look  at 
the  other  curiosities.  When  he  was  at  some  dis- 
tance from  the  cage  he  turned  and  said,  "  Good- 
bye," as  if  he  were  speaking  to  his  old  pet. 

During  the  performance  that  afternoon  Abner 
was  in  a  delightful  whirl  of  wonder  and  amaze- 
ment ;  but  Toby's  attention  was  divided  between 
what  was  going  on  in  the  ring  and  the  thought 
of  having  Mr.  Stubbs's  brother  all  to  himself  as 
soon  as  the  performance  should  be  over. 

He  did,  however,  watch  the  boy  who  sold  pea- 
nuts and  lemonade,  but  this  one  was  much  larger 
than  himself,  and  looked  rough  enough  to  endure 
the  hardships  of  such  a  life. 

Toby  was  also  attentive  when  Ella  was  in  the 
ring,  and  he  was  envied  by  all  his  acquaintances 


1 30  Mr.  Stubbss  Brother* 

when  she  smiled  as  she  passed  the  place  where 
he  was  sitting. 

Abner  would  have  been  glad  if  the  perform- 
ance had  been  prolonged  until  midnight;  but 
Toby,  still  thinking  of  Mr.  Stubbs's  brother,  was 
pleased  when  it  ended. 

He  and  Abner  waited  by  the  animal's  cages  un- 
til the  crowd  had  again  satisfied  their  curiosity; 
and  as  the  last  visitor  was  leaving  the  tent  old 
Ben  came  in,  followed  by  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Treat,  both 
in  exhibition  costume. 

Toby  was  somewhat  surprised  at  seeing  them, 
for  he  knew  their  busiest  time  was  just  at  the 
close  of  the  circus,  and  while  he  was  yet  wonder- 
ing at  their  coming  he  saw  Ella  approaching  from 
the  direction  of  the  dressing-tent. 

He  had  not  much  time  to  spend  in  speculation, 
however,  for  Ben  said,  as  he  came  up : 

"  Now,  Toby,  you  shall  see  Mr.  Stubbs's  broth- 
er, and  talk  to  him  just  as  long  as  you  want  to." 

The  skeleton  and  his  wife  and  Ella  looked  at 


Mr.  Stubbs's  Brother.  131 

each  other  and  smiled  in  a  queer  way  as  Ben 
said  this ;  but  Toby  was  too  much  excited  at  the 
idea  of  having  the  monkey  in  his  arms  to  pay 
any  attention  to  what  was  going  on  around  him. 

Ben,  unlocking  the  door  of  the  cage,  succeeded, 
after  considerable  trouble,  in  catching  the  partic- 
ular inmate  he  wanted,  and,  handing  him  to  Toby, 
said: 

"Now  let's  see  if  he  knows  you  as  well  as 
Stubbs  did." 

Toby  took  the  monkey  in  his  arms  with  a  glad 
cry  of  delight,  and  fondled  him  as  if  he  really  were 
the  pet  he  had  lost. 

Whether  it  was  because  the  animal  knew  that 
the  boy  was  petting  him,  or  because  he  had  been 
treated  harshly,  and  was  willing  to  make  friends 
with  the  first  one  who  was  kind  to  him,  it  is  dif- 
ficult to  say ;  certain  it  is  that  as  soon  as  he  found 
himself  in  Toby's  arms  he  nestled  down  with  his 
face  by  the  boy's  neck,  remaining  there  as  con- 
tentedly as  if  the  two  had  been  friends  for  years. 


132  Mr.  Stubbss  Brother. 

"  There,  don't  you  see  he  knows  me !"  cried  the 
boy  in  delight,  and  then  he  sat  down  upon  the 
ground,  caressing  the  animal,  and  whispering  all 
sorts  of  loving  words  in  his  ear. 

"  He  does  seem  to  act  as  if  he  had  been  intro- 
duced to  you,"  said  old  Ben,  with  a  chuckle.  "  It 
would  be  kinder  nice  if  you  could  keep  him, 
wouldn't  it?" 

"  'Deed  it  would,"  replied  Toby,  earnestly.  "I'd 
give  everything  I've  got  if  I  could  have  him,  for 
he  does  act  so  much  like  Mr.  Stubbs  it  seems  as 
if  it  must  be  him." 

Then  Ella  whispered  something  to  the  old 
driver,  the  skeleton  bestowed  a  very  mysterious 
wink  upon  him,  the  fat  woman  nodded  her  head 
till  her  cheeks  shook  like  two  balls  of  very  soft 
butter,  and  Abner  looked  curiously  on,  wonder- 
ing what  was  the  matter  with  Toby's  friends. 

He  soon  found  out  what  it  was,  however,  for 
Ben,  after  indulging  in  one  of  his  laughing  spasms, 
asked: 


Mr,  Stubbss  Brother.  133 

"Whose  monkey  is  that  you've  got  in  your 
arms,  Toby  ?" 

"  Why,  it  belongs  to  the  circus,  don't  it  ?"  And 
the  boy  looked  up  in  surprise. 

"  No,  it  don't  belong  to  the  circus ;  it  belongs 
to  you — that's  who  owns  it." 

"Me?     Mine?     Why,  Ben— " 

Toby  was  so  completely  bewildered  as  to  be 
unable  to  say  a  word,  and  just  as  he  was  begin- 
ning to  think  it  some  joke,  Ben  said : 

"The  skeleton  an'  his  wife,  an'  Ella  and  I, 
bought  that  monkey  this  forenoon,  an'  we  give 
him  to  you  so's  you'll  still  be  able  to  have  a  Mr. 
Stubbs  in  the  family." 

"  Oh,  Ben  !"  was  all  Toby  could  say ;  with  the 
monkey  tightly  clasped  in  his  arms,  he  took  the 
old  driver  by  the  hand;  but  just  then  the  skel- 
eton stepped  forward  holding  something  which 
glistened. 

"  Mr.  Tyler,"  be  said,  in  his  usual  speech -mak- 
ing style, "  when  our  friend  Ben  told  us  this  morn- 


134  Mr.  Stubbss  Brother. 

ing  about  your  having  discovered  Mr.  Stubbs's 
brother,  we  sent  out  and  got  this  collar  for  the 
monkey,  and  we  take  the  greatest  possible  pride 
in  presenting  it  to  you ;  although,  if  it  had  been 
something  that  my  Lilly  could  have  made  with 
her  own  fair  fingers,  I  should  have  liked  it  better." 
As  he  ceased  speaking,  he  handed  Toby  a  very 
pretty  little  dog-collar,  on  the  silver  plate  of 
which  was  inscribed : 


MR.    STTJBBS'S     BROTHER. 

PRESENTED  TO 

TOBY    TYLER 

BY 

THE  SKELETON,  THE  FAT  WOMAN, 

OLD  BEN,  LITTLE  ELLA. 


Toby  took  the  collar,  and  as  he  fastened  it  on 
the  monkey's  neck  he  said,  in  a  voice  that  trem- 
bled considerably  with  emotion : 

"You've  all  of  you  been  awful  good  to  me, 
an'  I  don't  know  what  to  say  so's  you'll  know 
how  much  I  thank  you.  It  seems  as  if  ever  since 


Mr.  Stubbs's  Brother.  135 

I  started  with  the  circus  youVe  all  tried  to  see 
how  good  you  could  be;  an'  now  you've  given 
me  this  monkey  that  I  wanted  so  much.  Some 
time,  when  I'm  a  man,  I'll  show  you  how  much  I 
think  of  all  you've  done  for  me." 

The  tears  of  gratitude  that  were  gathering  in 
Toby's  eyes  prevented  him  from  saying  anything 
more,  and  then  Mrs.  Treat  and  Ella  both  kissed 
him,  while  Ben  said,  in  a  gruff  tone : 

"  Now  carry  the  monkey  home,  an'  get  your  sup- 
per, for  you'll  want  to  come  down  here  this  even- 
ing, an'  you  won't  have  time  if  you  don't  go  now." 

Ella,  after  making  Toby  promise  that  he  would 
see  her  again  that  night,  went  with  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Treat,  while  old  Ben,  as  if  afraid  he  might  receive 
more  thanks,  walked  quickly  away  towards  the 
dressing-rooms,  and  there  was  nothing  else  for 
Toby  and  Abner  to  do  but  go  home. 

It  surely  seemed  as  if  every  boy  in  the  village 
knew  that  Toby  Tyler  had  remained  in  the  tent 
after  the  circus  was  over,  and  almost  all  of  them 


1 36  Mr.  Shibbs's  Brother. 

were  waiting  around  the  entrance  when  the  two 
boys  came  out  with  the  monkey. 

If  Toby  had  stayed  there  until  each  one  of  his 
friends  had  looked  at  and  handled  the  monkey 
as  much  as  he  wanted  to,  he  and  Abner  would 
have  remained  until  morning,  and  Mr.  Stubbs's 
brother  would  have  been  made  very  ill-natured. 

He  waited  until  his  friends  had  each  looked 
at  the  monkey,  and  then  he  and  Abner  started 
home,  escorted  by  nearly  all  the  boys  in  town. 

The  partners  in  the  amateur  •  circus  scheme 
were  nearly  as  wild  with  joy  as  Toby  was,  for 
now  their  enterprise  seemed  an  assured  success, 
since  they  had  two  real  ponies  and  a  live  mon- 
key to  begin  with.  They  seemed  to  consider  it 
their  right  to  go  to  Uncle  Daniel's  with  Toby; 
and  when  the  party  reached  the  corner  that 
marked  the  centre  of  the  village,  they  decided 
that  the  others  of  the  escort  should  go  no  far- 
ther— a  decision  which  relieved  Toby  of  an  in- 
convenient number  of  friends. 


MR.  STUBBS  S  BROTHER. 


Mr.  Stubbss  Brother.  1 39 

As  it  was,  the  party  was  quite  large  enough 
to  give  Aunt  Olive  some  uneasiness  lest  they 
should  track  dirt  in  upon  her  clean  kitchen  floor, 
and  she  insisted  that  both  the  boys  and  the 
monkey  should  remain  in  the  yard. 

Toby  had  an  idea  that  Mr.  Stubbs's  brother 
would  be  treated  as  one  of  the  family ;  and,  had 
any  one  hinted  that  the  monkey  would  not  be  al- 
lowed to  share  his  bed  and  eat  at  the  same  table 
with  him,  he  would  have  resented  it  strongly. 

But  Uncle  Daniel  soon  convinced  him  that 
the  proper  place  for  his  pet  was  in  the  wood- 
shed, where  he  could  be  chained  to  keep  him 
out  of  mischief,  and  Mr.  Stubbs's  brother  was 
soon  safely  secured  in  as  snug  a  place  as  a 
monkey  could  ask  for. 

Not  until  this  was  done  did  the  partners  re- 
turn to  their  homes,  or  the  centre  of  attraction — 
the  tenting-grounds — nor  did  Toby  find  time  to 
get  his  supper  and  go  for  the  cows. 

Not  once  during  the  afternoon  had  Toby  said 


140  Mr.  Stubbss  Brother. 

anything  to  Abner  of  the  good  fortune  that 
might  come  to  him  through  old  Ben ;  but  when 
he  got  back  from  the  pasture  and  met  Uncle 
Daniel  in  the  barn,  he  told  him  what  the  old 
driver  had  said  about  Abner. 

"  Are  you  sure  you  heard  him  rightly,  Toby, 
boy  ?"  asked  the  old  gentleman  as  he  pushed 
his  glasses  up  on  his  forehead,  as  he  always  did 
when  he  was  surprised  or  perplexed. 

"  I  know  he  said  that ;  but  it  seems  as  if  it 
was  too  good  to  be  true,  don't  it  ?" 

"  The  Lord's  ways  are  not  our  ways,  my  boy, 
and  if  he  sees  fit  to  work  some  good  to  the  poor 
cripple,  he  can  do  it  as  well  through  a  circus 
driver  as  through  one  of  his  elect,"  said  Uncle 
Daniel  reverentially,  and  then  he  set  about  milk- 
ing the  cows  in  such  an  absent-minded  way  that 
he  worried  old  Short-horn  until  she  kicked  the 
pail  over  when  it  was  nearly  half  full. 


CHAPTER  X. 

THE   ACCIDENT. 

THAT  night  Toby  and  Abner  went  to  the  cir- 
cus grounds  with  Uncle  Daniel  and  Aunt  Olive ; 
and  when  old  Ben  approached  the  party  as  they 
were  nearing  the  tent,  Toby  motioned  the  crip- 
ple to  come  with  him,  for  he  thought  it  might 
be  better  that  the  boy  should  not  hear  the  con- 
versation concerning  himself. 

It  had  been  decided  by  Uncle  Daniel  that  the 
boys  should  go  to  the  circus  grounds  that  even- 
ing, and  stay  there  until  it  was  nearly  dark,  when 
they  were  to  go  home  and  go  to  bed ;  for  he  never 
believed  it  could  do  boys  any  good  to  be  out 
after  dark,  while  he  was  certain  it  was  better 
for  their  health  if  they  went  to  bed  early. 


142  Mr.  Stubbss  Brother. 

Therefore  Toby  intended  to  make  this  visit 
simply  one  of  farewell,  after  Abner  should  see 
a  little  more  of  the  bustle  and  confusion  that 
had  so  fascinated  him  in  the  afternoon. 

To  that  end  the  boys  walked  around  the  en- 
closure,  listened  to  the  men  who  were  loudly 
crying  the  wonderful  things  they  had  for  sale, 
and  all  the  while  kept  a  bright  lookout  in  the 
hope  of  seeing  some  of  their  circus  friends. 

It  was  nearly  time  for  the  performance  to 
begin  when  the  boys  went  into  the  skeleton's 
tent,  and  said  good-bye  to  the  thin  man  and 
his  fat  wife. 

Then  Toby,  anxious  to  run  around*  to  the 
dressing-rooms  to  speak  with  Ella,  and  not  dar- 
ing to  take  Abner  with  him,  said  to  the  boy: 

"  Now  you  wait  here  for  a  minute,  an'  I'll  be 
right  back." 

Abner  was  perfectly  contented  to  wait;  it 
seemed  to  him  that  he  would  have  been  willing 
to  stay  there  all  night,  provided  the  excitement 


Mr.  Stubbss  Brother,  143 

should  be  continued,  and  he  gazed  around  him  in 
perfect  delight  as  he  leaned  against  one  of  the 
tent  ropes. 

Toby  found  Ella  without  much  difficulty ;  but 
both  she  and  her  mother  had  so  much  to  say  to 
him  that  it  was  some  time  before  he  could  leave 
them  to  go  in  search  of  Ben. 

The  old  driver  was  curled  up  on  his  wagon, 
taking  "  forty  winks,"  as  he  called  a  nap,  before 
starting  on  the  road  again. 

When  Toby  awakened  him,  he  explained  that 
he  would  not  have  taken  the  liberty  if  it  had 
not  been  for  the  purpose  of  saying  good-bye,  and 
Ben  replied,  good-naturedly : 

"  That's  all  right,  Toby ;  I  should  only  have 
been  angry  with  you  if  you  had  let  me  sleep. 
I've  fixed  it  with  your  uncle  about  that  little 
cripple ;  and  now,  when  I  get  pitched  off  and 
killed  some  of  these  dark  nights,  there'll  be  one 
what'll  be  sorry  I'm  gone.  Be  a  good  boy,  Toby ; 
don't  ever  do  anything  you'd  be  afraid  to  tell 


144  Mr.  Stubbss  Brother. 

your  Uncle  Dan'l  of,  and  next  year  I'll  see  you 
again." 

Toby  wanted  to  say  something;  but  the  old 
driver  had  spoken  his  farewell,  and  was  evidently 
determined  neither  to  say  nor  to  hear  anything 
more,  for  he  crawled  up  on  the  box  of  the  wagon 
again,  and  appeared  to  fall  asleep  instantly. 

Toby  stood  looking  at  him  a  moment,  as  if  try- 
ing to  make  out  whether  this  sudden  sleep  was 
real,  or  only  feigned  in  order  to  prevent  the  part- 
ing from  being  a  sad  one;  and  then  he  said,  as 
he  started  towards  the  door: 

"  Well,  I  thank  you  over  and  over  again  for 
Mr.  Stubbs's  brother,  even  if  you  have  gone  to 
sleep."  Then  he  went  to  meet  Abner. 

When  he  reached  the  place  where  he  had 
left  his  friend,  to  his  great  surprise  he  could  see 
nothing  of  him.  There  was  no  possibility  that 
he  could  have  made  any  mistake  as  to  the  local- 
ity, for  he  had  left  him  standing  just  behind  the 
skeleton's  tent. 


Mr.  Stubbss  Brother.  145 

Toby  ran  quickly  around  the  enclosure,  asked 
some  of  the  attendants  in  the  dressing-room  if 
they  had  seen  a  boy  on  crutches,  and  then  he 
went  into  Mr.  Treat's  tent.  But  he  could  neither 
hear  nor  see  anything  of  Abner,  whose  complete 
disappearance  was,  to  say  the  least,  very  strange. 

Toby  was  completely  bewildered  by  this  sud- 
den disappearance,  and  for  some  moments  he 
stood  looking  at  the  place  where  he  had  left  his 
friend,  as  if  he  thought  that  his  eyes  must  have 
deceived  him,  and  that  the  boy  was  still  there. 

There  were  but  few  persons  around  the  outside 
of  the  tent,  those  who  had  money  enough  to  pay 
for  their  admission  having  gone  in,  and  those  who 
were  penniless  having  gone  home,  so  that  Toby 
did  not  find  many  of  whom  to  make  inquiries. 
The  attaches  of  the  circus  were  busily  engaged 
packing  the  goods  for  the  night's  journey,  and 
a  number  of  them  had  gathered  around  one  of 
the  wagons  a  short  distance  away.  But  Toby 

thought  it  useless  to  ask  them  for  tidings  of  his 

10 


146  Mr.  Stubbss  Brother* 

missing  friend,  for  he  knew  by  experience  how 
busy  every  one  connected  with  the  circus  was 
at  that  hour. 

After  he  had  looked  at  the  tent  rope  against 
which  he  had  seen  Abner  leaning,  until  he  re- 
covered his  presence  of  mind,  he  went  into  the 
tent  again  for  the  purpose  of  getting  Uncle 
Daniel  to  help  him  in  the  search.  As  he  was 
passing  the  monkey  wagon,  however,  he  saw  old 
Ben — whom  he  had  left  apparently  in  a  heavy 
sleep — examining  his  wagon  to  make  sure  that 
everything  was  right,  and  to  him  he  told  the 
story  of  Abner's  strange  disappearance. 

"I  guess  he's  gone  off  with  some  of  the  other 
fellows,"  said  Ben,  thinking  the  matter  of  but 
little  importance,  but  yet  going  out  of  the  tent 
with  Toby  as  he  spoke.  "  Boys  are  just  like  eels, 
an'  you  never  know  where  to  find  'em  after  you 
once  let  'em  slip  through  your  fingers." 

"  But  Abner  promised  me  he'd  stay  right 
here,"  said  Toby. 


Mr.  Stubbss  Brother.  147 

"  Well,  some  other  fellows  came  along,  an'  he 
promised  to  go  with  them,  I  s'pose." 

"  But  I  don't  believe  Abner  would ;  he'd  keep 
his  promise  after  he  made  it." 

While  they  were  talking  they  had  gone  out 
of  the  tent,  and  Ben  started  at  once  towards  the 
crowd  around  the  wagon,  for  he  knew  there  was 
no  reason  why  so  many  men  should  be  there 
when  they  had  work  to  do  elsewhere. 

"  Did  you  go  over  there  to  see  what  was  up  ?" 
asked  the  old  driver. 

"  No,  I  thought  they  were  getting  ready  to 
start,  an'  I  could  see  Abner  wasn't  there." 

"  Something's  the  matter,"  muttered  the  old 
man,  as  he  quickened  his  pace,  and  Toby,  alarmed 
by  the  look  on  his  friend's  face,  hurried  on,  hard- 
ly daring  to  breathe. 

One  look  into  the  wagon  around  which  the 
men  were  gathered  was  sufficient  to  show  why 
it  was  that  Abner  had  not  remained  by  the  tent 
as  he  had  promised ;  for  he  lay  in  the  bottom  of 


148  Mr.  Stubbs's  Brother, 

the  cart,  to  all  appearances  dead,  while  two  of 
the  party  were  examining  him  to  learn  the  ex- 
tent  of  his  injuries. 

"  What  is  the  matter  ?  How  did  this  boy  get 
hurt  ?"  asked  Ben,  sternly,  as  he  leaped  upon  the 
wagon,  and  laid  his  hand  over  the  injured  boy's 
heart. 

"  He  was  standing  there  close  by  the  guy 
ropes  when  we  were  getting  ready  to  let  the 
canvas  down.  One  of  the  side  poles  fell  an<? 
struck  him  on  the  head,  or  shoulder,  I  don't 
know  which,"  replied  a  man. 

"  It  struck  him  here  pn  the  back  of  the  neck," 
said  one  of  those  who  were  examining  the  boy, 
as  he  turned  him  half  over  to  expose  an  ugly- 
looking  wound  around  which  the  blood  was  rap- 
idly settling.  "  It's  a  wonder  it  didn't  kill  him." 

"  He  hain't  dead,  is  he  ?"  asked  Toby,  piteously, 
as  he  climbed  up  on  one  of  the  wheels  and  looked 
over  in  a  frightened  way  at  the  little  deformed 
body  that  lay  so  still  and  lifeless. 


Mr.  StubbJs  Brother.  1 5 1 

"  No,  he  hain't  dead,"  said  Ben,  who  had  de- 
tected a  faint  pulsation  of  the  heart ;  "  but  why 
didn't  some  of  you  send  for  a  doctor  when  it  first 
happened  ?" 

"  We  did,"  replied  one  of  the  men.  "  Some  of 
the  village  boys  were  here,  and  we  started  them 
right  off." 

Almost  as  the  man  spoke,  Dr.  Abbott,  one  of 
the  physicians  of  the  town,  drove  up  and  made 
his  way  through  the  crowd. 

Toby,  too  much  alarmed  to  speak,  watched  the 
doctor's  every  movement  as  he  made  an  examina- 
tion of  the  wounded  boy,  and  listened  to  the  ac- 
counts the  men  gave  of  the  way  in  which  the 
accident  had  happened. 

"  His  injuries  are  not  necessarily  fatal,  but 
they  are  very  dangerous.  He  lives  at  the  poor- 
farm,  and  should  be  taken  there  at  once,"  said 
the  doctor  after  he  had  made  a  slight  and  almost 
careless  examination. 

Toby  was  anxious  that  the  poor  boy  should 


152  Mr.  Stubbss  Brother. 

be  taken  to  his  home  rather  than  to  the  comfort- 
less place  the  doctor  had  proposed;  but  he  did 
not  dare  make  the  suggestion  before  asking  Uncle 
Daniel's  consent  to  it.  He  was  about  to  ask  them 
not  to  move  Abner  until  he  could  find  his  uncle, 
when  Ben  whispered  something  to  the  doctor  that 
caused  him  to  look  at  the  old  driver  in  surprise. 

"  I'll  ask  Uncle  Dan'l  to  take  him  home  with 
us,"  said  Toby  as  he  slipped  down  from  his  high 
perch  and  started  towards  the  tent. 

"  I'll  take  care  of  that,"  said  Ben  as  he  went 
towards  the  tent  with  him.  "  I  had  just  fixed  it 
with  your  uncle  so's  he'd  take  Abner  from  the 
poor-farm  an'  board  him,  an'  now  there's  all  the 
more  reason  why  he  should  do  it.  You  go  back 
an'  stay  with  Abner,  an'  I'll  bring  your  Uncle 
Dan'l  out." 

Then  Toby  went  back  to  the  wagon  where  the 
poor  little  cripple  still  lay  as  one  dead,  while  the 
blood  flowed  in  a  tiny  stream  from  one  of  his 
arms,  where  the  physician  had  opened  a  vein. 


Mr.  Stubbss  Brother.  153 

Not  understanding  the  reason  for  this  blood- 
letting, and  supposing  that  tbe  crimson  flow  was 
due  to  the  injuries  Abner  had  received,  Toby 
cried  out  in  his  fear ;  but  one  of  the  men  ex- 
plained the  case  to  him,  and  then  he  waited  as 
patiently  as  possible  for  the  driver's  return. 

Both  Uncle  Daniel  and  Aunt  Olive  came  out 
with  Ben,  and  within  a  very  few  moments  Abner 
was  being  carried  to  the  farm-house,  in  the  same 
wagon  that  had  taken  him  there  before  in  com- 
pany with  the  skeleton  and  his  party,  for  that 
famous  dinner. 

It  frightened  Toby  still  more  to  see  the  uncon- 
scious boy  carried  into  the  house  by  Ben  and  the 
doctor  as  though  he  were  already  dead ;  and  when 
Aunt  Olive  led  them  into  the  best  room,  where 
no  one  had  slept  since  Uncle  Daniel's  sister  died, 
it  seemed  as  if  every  one  believed  Abner  could 
not  live,  or  they  would  not  have  carried  him 
there. 

Toby  hardly  knew  when  Ben  went  away,  or 


154  Mr.  Stubbss  Brother. 

whether  he  said  anything  before  he  left,  or,  in 
fact,  anything  else,  so  sad  and  confused  was  he. 
He  did  not  even  think  about  Mr.  Stubbs's  broth- 
er, but  remained  in  one  corner  of  the  room,  al- 
most hidden  by  one  of  the  flowing  chintz  cur- 
tains,  until  Uncle  Daniel  heard  him  sobbing,  and 
led  him  away  to  his  room. 

"  There  is  good  reason  to  hope  Abner  will  re- 
cover," said  the  old  man  as  he  stroked  Toby's 
hair ;  "  but  he  is  in  the  keeping  of  the  One  who 
never  errs,  and  whatsoever  He  does  is  good." 

Then  Uncle  Daniel  actually  kissed  the  boy, 
as  he  told  him  to  go  to  bed  and  go  to  sleep. 
Toby  went  to  bed  as  he  was  commanded,  though 
it  seemed  impossible  he  should  sleep  while  it 
might  be  that  Abner  was  dying. 


CHAPTER  XL 

CHANGE  OF   PLANS. 

TOBY  was  thoroughly  surprised,  when  he  awoke, 
to  find  that  it  was  morning,  and  that  his  slum- 
ber had  been  as  sweet  as  if  nothing  had  hap- 
pened. He  dressed  himself  as  quickly  as  pos- 
sible, and  ran  down-stairs,  and  Uncle  Daniel  told 
him  the  doctor  had  just  left,  after  saying  he 
thought  Abner  would  recover. 

It  was  a  sad  visit  Toby  paid  Mr.  Stubbs's 
brother  that  morning ;  and,  as  he  petted  him,  the 
tears  came  into  his  eyes  when  he  thought  of  poor 
Abner,  until  he  was  obliged  to  leave  the  monkey 
to  himself,  after  having  tied  him  so  that  he  could 
take  a  short  run  out  of  doors. 

Then  he  visited  the  ponies  in  the  stable,  and 


156  Mr.  Stubbss  Brother. 

when  he  returned  to  the  house  he  found  all  his 
partners  in  the  circus  enterprise,  as  well  as  sev- 
eral other  boys,  waiting  to  hear  an  account  of  the 
accident. 

Dr.  Abbott  had  reported  that  Abner  had  been 
injured ;  but,  as  he  had  not  given  any  particulars, 
the  villagers  were  in  a  state  of  anxious  uncer- 
tainty regarding  it. 

After  Toby  had  told  them  all  he  knew  about 
the  matter,  and  had  allowed  them  to  see  the 
monkey  and  the  ponies,  which  some  of  them 
seemed  to  regard  as  of  more  importance  than  the 
injured  boy,  Bob  asked : 

"  Well,  now  what  about  our  circus  ?" 

"  Why,  we  can't  do  anything  on  that  till  Ab- 
ner gets  well,"  said  Toby,  as  if  surprised  that  the 
matter  should  even  be  spoken  about. 

"  Why  not  ?  He  wasn't  goin'  to  do  any  of  the 
ridin',  an'  now's  the  time  for  us  to  go  ahead  while 
we  can  remember  what  they  did  at  the  show 
yesterday.  It  don't  make  any  difference  'bout 


Mr.  Stubbss  Brother.  1 5  7 

our  circus  if  he  did  get  hurt,"  and  Bob  looked 
around  at  the  others  as  if  asking  whether  they 
agreed  with  him  or  not. 

"  I  think  we  ought  to  wait  till  he  gets  better," 
said  Joe, "  'cause  he  was  goin'  in  with  us,  an'  it 
don't  seem  jest  fair  to  have  the  show  when  he's 
so  sick." 

"  That's  foolish,"  said  Ben,  with  a  sneer.  "  If 
he  hadn't  come  up  to  the  pasture  the  other  day, 
you  wouldn't  thought  anything  'bout  him,  an' 
he'd  been  out  to  the  poor-farm  where  he  be- 
longs." 

"  If  he  hadn't  come  up  there,"  said  Toby,  "  I'd 
never  known  how  lonesome  he  was,  an'  I'd  gone 
right  on  havin'  a  good  time  without  ever  once 
thinkin'  of  him.  An'  if  he  hadn't  come  up  there, 
perhaps  he  wouldn't  got  hurt,  an'  it  seems  almost 
as  if  I'd  done  it  to  him,  'cause  I  took  him  to  the 


circus." 


"  Don't  make  a  fool  of  yourself,  Toby  Tyler!" 
and  Ben  Gushing  spoke  almost  angrily.     "You 


158  Mr.  StubbJs  Brother. 

act  awful  silly  'bout  that  feller,  an'  father  says 
he's  only  a  pauper  anyway." 

"  It  wouldn't  make  any  difference  if  he  was, 
'cause  he's  a  poor  lonesome  cripple ;  but  he  hain't 
a  pauper,  for  old  Ben's  goin'  to  take  care  of  him, 
an'  he  pays  Uncle  Dan'l  for  lettin'  him  stay  here." 

This  news  was  indeed  surprising  to  the  boys, 
and  as  they  fully  realized  that  Abner  was  under 
the  protection  of  a  "  circus  man,"  he  rose  consid- 
erably in  their  estimation. 

They  were  anxious  to  know  all  about  the  mat- 
ter, and  when  Toby  told  them  all  he  could,  they 
looked  at  the  case  in  such  an  entirely  different 
light  that  Ben  Gushing  even  offered  to  go  out  in 
the  field,  where  he  could  be  seen  from  the  win- 
dows of  the  room  in  which  Abner  lay,  and  go 
through  his  entire  acrobatic  performance  in  the 
hope  the  sight  might  do  the  invalid  some  good. 
Leander  Leighton  also  offered  to  come  twice  each 
day  and  play  "  Yankee  Doodle  "  with  one  finger 
on  the  accordion,  in  order  to  soothe  him. 


Mr.  Stubbs  s  Brother.  159 

But  Toby  thought  it  best  to  decline  both  these 
generous  offers ;  he  was  glad  they  had  been  made, 
but  would  have  been  much  better  pleased  if  they 
had  come  while  it  was  still  believed  Abner's  only 
home  was  at  the  poorhouse. 

When  the  boys  went  away,  Toby  pleaded  so 
hard  that  Aunt  Olive  consented  to  his  sitting  in 
the  chamber  where  Abner  lay,  with  the  agree- 
ment that  he  should  make  no  noise ;  and  there 
he  remained  nearly  all  the  day,  as  still  as  any 
mouse,  watching  the  pale  face  on  which  death 
seemed  already  to  have  set  its  imprint. 

Each  day  for  two  weeks  Toby  remained  on 
watch,  leaving  the  room  only  when  it  was  neces- 
sary, and  he  was  at  last  rewarded  by  hearing 
Abner  call  him  by  name. 

After  that,  Aunt  Olive  allowed  the  two  boys  to 
talk  a  little,  and  a  few  days  later  Mr.  Stubbs's 
brother  was  brought  in  to  pay  his  respects  to 
the  invalid. 

Many  times  during  Abner's  illness  had  the 


160  Mr.  Stubbss  Brother. 

boys  been  up  to  learn  how  he  was  getting  on, 
and  to  try  to  persuade  Toby  to  commence  again 
the  preparations  for  the  circus ;  but  he  had  stead- 
ily refused  to  proceed  further  in  the  matter 
until  Abner  could  at  least  play  the  part  of  spec- 
tator. 

Uncle  Daniel  had  had  several  letters  from  Ben 
inquiring  about  Abner's  condition;  and  as  each 
one  contained  money,  some  of  which  had  been 
sent  by  the  skeleton  and  his  wife  to  "Toby  Ty- 
ler's friend,"  the  sick  boy  had  wanted  for  noth- 
ing. Ben  had  also  written  that  he  had  gained 
the  consent  of  the  proprietors  of  the  circus  to 
have  the  ponies  driven  for  Abner's  benefit,  and 
had  sent  a  dainty  little  carriage  and  harnesses  so 
that  he  could  ride  out  as  soon  as  he  was  able. 

Chandler  Merrill  had  grown  tired  of  waiting 
for  his  pony,  and  had  taken  him  from  the  pasture, 
while  Reddy  had  long  since  returned  the  blind 
horse  to  its  owner. 

But  during  all  these  five  weeks  the  work  had 


"MR.  STUBBS'S  BROTHER  WAS  BROUGHT  IN." 


Mr.  Stubbss  Brother.  163 

gone  slowly  but  steadily  on  circusward.  Lean- 
der  had  become  so  expert  a  musician  on  the  ac- 
cordion, that  he  could  play  "Yankee  Doodle" 
with  all  his  fingers,  "Old  Hundred"  with  two; 
and  was  fast  mastering  the  intricacies  of  "Old 
Dog  Tray." 

As  to  Ben  Gushing,  it  would  be  hard  to  say 
exactly  how  much  progress  he  had  made,  the  re- 
ports differed  so  much.  He  claimed  to  be  able 
to  turn  hand -springs  around  the  largest  circus 
ring  that  was  ever  made,  and  to  stand  on  his 
head  for  a  week ;  but  some  of  the  boys  who  were 
not  partners  in  the  enterprise  flatly  contradict- 
ed this,  and  declared  that  they  could  do  as  many 
feats  in  the  acrobatic  line  as  he  could. 

Joe  Robinson  had  practised  howling  until 
Keddy  insisted  that  there  was  little  or  no  differ- 
ence between  him  and  the  fiercest  and  strongest- 
lunged  hyena  that  ever  walked.  Bob  could  sing 
the  two  songs  his  sister  had  taught  him,  and 
had  written  out  twelve  copies  of  them  in  order 


1 64  Mr.  Stubbss  Brother. 

to  have  a  good  stock  to  sell  from;  but  Leander 
predicted  that  he  would  not  be  able  to  dispose 
of  many,  because  one  was  the  "  Suwanee  River,71 
and  the  other  "A  Poor  Wayfaring  Man,"  the 
words  of  which  any  boy  could  get  by  consulting 
an  old  music- book. 

Reddy  had  made  a  remarkably  large  whip, 
which  he  could  snap  once  out  of  every  three  at- 
tempts, and  not  hit  himself  on  the  head  more 
than  once  out  of  five. 

Thus  the  circus  project  was  as  promising  as 
ever,  and  Abner,  as  well  as  the  other  partners, 
had  urged  Toby  to  take  hold  of  it  again ;  but  he 
had  made  no  promises  until  the  day  came  when 
Aboer  was  able  to  sit  up,  and  Dr.  Abbott  said 
that  he  could  go  out  for  a  ride  in  another  week, 
if  he  still  continued  to  improve. 

Then  it  was  that  Toby  told  his  partners  he 
would  meet  them  on  the  first  day  Abner  went  out 
for  a  ride,  and  tell  them  when  he  would  take  up 
the  circus  work  again,  which  made  every  one 


Mr.  Stubbss  Brother.  165 

more  anxious  than  ever  to  see  the  poor-farm  boy 
out  of  doors. 

From  the  time  when  the  tiny  little  carriage 
and  the  two  sets  of  harness  glistening  with  silver 
had  come,  Toby  had  been  anxious  for  a  drive  with 
the  ponies ;  but  he  had  resolutely  refused  to  use 
them  until  Abner  could  go  with  him,  although 
Uncle  Daniel  had  told  him  he  could  try  them 
whenever  he  wished.  He  had  waited  for  his 
other  pleasures  until  Abner  could  join  him,  and 
he  insisted  on  waiting  for  this  one.  One  day, 
when  Aunt  Olive  spoke  to  him  about  it,  he  said : 

"  If  I  was  sick,  an'  had  such  a  team  sent  to  me, 
I'd  feel  kinder  bad  to  have  some  other  boy  using 
it,  an'  so  I'm  goin'  to  let  Abner  be  the  first  one  to 
go  out  with  the  ponies." 

It  was  hard  not  even  to  get  into  the  little 
carriage  that  was  so  carefully  covered  with  a 
white  cloth  in  the  stable ;  but  Toby  resisted  the 
temptation,  and  when  at  last  the  day  did  come 
that  Aunt  Olive  and  Uncle  Daniel  helped  the 


1 66  Mr.  Stubbss  Brother. 

sick  boy  down-stairs,  and  lifted  him  into  the  pret- 
tiest little  pony  carriage  ever  seen  in  Guilford,  he 
felt  amply  rewarded  for  his  denial. 

They  drove  all  over  the  town,  stopping  now 
and  then  to  speak  with  some  of  their  friends,  or 
to  answer  questions  as  to  Abner's  health;  and 
when  it  was  nearly  time  to  return  home  Toby 
turned  the  ponies'  heads  towards  the  pasture, 
where  he  knew  his  partners  were  waiting  for  him 
according  to  agreement. 

"  We'll  go  on  with  the  circus  now,"  he  said  to 
Abner,  "  for  I  can  take  you  with  me  in  this  team, 
an'  you  can  stay  in  it  all  the  time  we're  practising 
so's  it'll  be  'most  as  good  as  if  you  could  do  some- 
thing towards  it  yourself." 

Abner  was  quietly  happy ;  the  tender,  thought- 
ful care  that  had  been  bestowed  upon  him  since 
his  mishap  had  been  such  as,  in  his  mind  at  least, 
repaid  him  for  all  the  pain. 

"  I  hope  you  will  have  it,"  he  said,  earnestly, 
"  for,  even  if  I  can't  be  with  you  all  the  time,  1 
won't  feel  as  if  I  was  keepin'  you  from  it" 


Mr.  Stubbss  Brother.  167 

Then  he  put  his  hand  in  a  loving  way  on  Toby's 
cheek,  and  the  "  boss  of  the  circus"  felt  fully  re- 
paid for  having  waited  for  his  pleasure. 

At  the  pasture  all  the  partners  were  gathered, 
for  Toby  had  promised  to  tell  them  when  he 
would  begin  operations;  and  as  he  drove  the 
ponies  up  to  the  bars,  he  shouted : 

"Abner  an'  me  will  be  up  here  about  nine 
o'clock  to  -  morrow  mornin',  an'  we'll  bring  Mr. 
Stubbs's  brother  with  us." 

There  was  a  mighty  shout,  and  Ben  Gushing 
stood  on  his  head,  when  this  announcement  was 
made,  and  then  Toby  and  Abner  drove  home  as 
quickly  as  their  ponies  could  scamper. 


CHAPTER  XIL 

A  REHEARSAL. 

Toby  told  Uncle  Daniel  that  night  of 
their  intention  to  go  on  with  the  work  of  the 
long-delayed  circus,  and  that  Abner  was  to  ride 
up  to  the  pasture  where  he  could  see  everything 
that  was  going  on,  the  old  gentleman  shook  his 
head  doubtingly,  as  if  he  feared  the  consequences 
to  the  invalid,  who  appeared  very  much  exhaust- 
ed even  by  the  short  ride  he  had  taken. 

Abner,  interpreting  Uncle  Daniel's  shake  of 
the  head  the  same  way  Toby  did,  pleaded  hard 
to  be  allowed  to  go,  insisting  that  he  would  be 
no  more  tired  sitting  in  the  little  carriage  than 
he  would  in  a  chair  at  home;  and  Aunt  Olive 
joined  in  the  boys'  entreaty,  promising  to  arrange 


Mr.  Stubbss  Brother.  169 

the  pillows  in  such  a  manner  that  Abner  could 
lie  down  or  sit  up,  as  best  suited  him. 

"  We'll  see  what  the  doctor  has  to  say  about 
it,"  replied  Uncle  Daniel,  and,  with  much  anxiety, 
the  boys  awaited  the  physician's  coming. 

"  Go  ?  Why,  of  course  he  can  go,  and  it  will 
do  him  good  to  be  out  of  doors,"  said  the  medical 
gentleman  when  he  made  his  regular  afternoon 
visit  and  Uncle  Daniel  laid  the  case  before  him. 

Toby  insisted  on  bringing  Mr.  Stubbs's  brother 
into  the  invalid's  room  as  a  signal  mark  of  re- 
joicing at  the  victory  the  doctor  had  won  for 
them,  and  Abner  was  so  delighted  with  the  funny 
pranks  the  monkey  played  that  it  would  have 
been  difficult  to  tell  by  his  face  that  the  morn- 
ing ride  had  tired  him. 

Mr.  Stubbs's  brother  was  quite  as  mischievous 
as  a  monkey  could  be;  he  capered  around  the 
room,  picking  at  this  thing  and  looking  into  that, 
until  Aunt  Olive  laughed  herself  tired,  and  Uncle 
Daniel  declared  that  if  the  other  monkey  was 


1 70  Mr.  Stubbs's  Brother. 

anything  like  this  one,  Toby  was  right  when  he 
named  him  Steve  Stubbs,  so  much  did  he  resemble 
that  gentleman  in  inquisitiveness. 

The  day  had  been  so  exciting  to  the  boy  who 
had  been  confined  to  one  room  for  several  weeks, 
that  he  was  quite  ready  to  go  to  bed  when  Aunt 
Olive  suggested  it;  and  Toby  went  about  his 
evening's  work  with  a  lighter  heart  than  he  had 
had  since  the  night  he  found  his  crippled  friend 
lying  so  still  and  death-like  in  the  circus  wagon. 

The  next  morning  Toby  was  up  some  time  be- 
fore the  sun  peeped  in  through  the  crevices  of 
Uncle  Daniel's  barn  to  awaken  the  cows,  and  he 
groomed  the  tiny  ponies  till  their  coats  shone  like 
satin.  The  carriage  was  washed  until  every  por- 
tion of  it  reflected  one's  face  like  a  mirror,  and 
the  harnesses  with  their  silver  mountings  were 
free  from  the  slightest  suspicion  of  dirt. 

Then  after  the  cows  had  been  driven  to  the 
pasture  Mr.  Stubbs's  brother  was  treated  to  a 
bath,  and  was  brushed  and  combed  until,  losing 


Mr.  Stubbss  Brother.  171 

all  patience  at  such  foolishness,  he  escaped  from 
his  too  cleanly-disposed  master,  taking  refuge  on 
the  top  of  the  shed,  where  he  chattered  and  scold- 
ed at  a  furious  rate  as  he  tried  to  explain  that 
he  had  no  idea  of  coming  down  until  the  curry- 
comb and  brush  had  been  put  away. 

But  when  the  pony  team  was  driven  up  to  the 
door,  and  Toby  decorated  the  bridles  of  the  lit- 
tle horses  with  some  of  Aunt  Olive's  roses,  Mr. 
Stubbs's  brother  came  down  from  his  high  perch, 
and  picked  some  of  the  flowers  for  himself,  put- 
ting them  over  his  ears  to  imitate  the  ponies; 
then  he  gravely  seated  himself  in  the  carnage, 
and  Toby  had  no  difficulty  in  fastening  the  cord 
to  his  collar  again. 

Aunt  Olive  nearly  filled  the  little  carriage  with 
pillows  so  soft  that  a  very  small  boy  would  al- 
most have  sunk  out  of  sight  in  them ;  and  in  the 
midst  of  these  Abner  was  placed  carefully,  look- 
ing for  all  the  world,  as  Toby  said,  like  a  chicken 
in  a  nest. 


172  Mr.  Stubbs  s  Brother. 

Mr.  Stubbs's  brother  was  fastened  in  the  front 
in  such  a  way  that  his  head  came  just  above  the 
dash-board,  over  which  he  looked  in  the  most 
comical  manner  possible. 

Then  Toby  squeezed  in  on  one  side,  declaring 
he  had  plenty  of  room,  although  there  was  not 
more  than  three  square  inches  of  space  left  on 
the  seat,  and  even  a  portion  of  that  was  occu- 
pied by  a  fan  and  some  other  things  Aunt  Olive 
had  put  in  for  Abner's  use. 

Both  the  boys  were  in  the  highest  possible 
state  of  happiness,  and  Abner  was  tucked  in  un- 
til he  could  hardly  have  been  shaken  had  he 
been  in  a  cart  instead  of  a  carriage  with  springs. 

"Be  sure  to  keep  Abner  in  the  shade,  and 
come  home  just  as  soon  as  he  begins  to  grow 
tired,"  cried  Aunt  Olive  as  Toby  spoke  to  the 
ponies,  and  they  dashed  off  like  a  couple  of  well- 
trained  Newfoundland  dogs. 

"  I'll  take  care  of  him  like  he  was  wax,"  cried 
Toby  as  they  drove  out  through  the  gateway, 


Mr.  Stubbs's  Brother.  1 73 

and  Mr.  Stubbs's  brother  screamed  and  chattered 
with  delight,  while  Abner  lay  back  restful  and 
happy. 

It  was  just  the  kind  of  a  morning  for  a  ride, 
and  Abner  appeared  to  enjoy  it  so  much  that 
Toby  turned  the  little  steeds  in  the  direction  of 
the  village,  driving  fully  a  mile  before  going  to 
the  pasture. 

When  they  did  arrive  at  the  place  where  the 
first  rehearsal  was  to  be  held,  they  found  the 
partners  gathered  in  full  force ;  and,  although  it 
was  not  even  then  nine  o'clock,  they  had  evident- 
ly been  there  some  time. 

Joe  Robinson  ran  to  let  the  bars  down,  while 
the  ponies  pranced  into  the  field  as  if  they  knew 
they  were  the  objects  of  admiration  from  all  that 
party,  and  they  shook  their  tiny  heads  until  the 
petals  fell  from  the  roses  in  a  shower  upon  the 
grass. 

Mr.  Stubbs's  brother  stood  as  erect  as  pos- 
sible, and  was  so  excited  by  the  cheers  of  the 


j  74  Mr.  Stubbss  Brother. 

boys  that  he  seized  the  flowers  he  had  tucked 
over  his  ears,  and  flung  them  at  the  party  in 
great  glee. 

The  carriage  was  driven  into  the  shade  cast 
by  the  alders ;  the  ponies  were  unharnessed,  and 
fastened  where  they  could  have  a  feast  of  grass ; 
and  Toby  was  ready  for  business,  or  thought  he 
was.  But,  just  as  he  was  about  to  consult  with 
his  partners,  a  scream  from  both  Abner  and  the 
monkey  caused  him  to  turn  towards  the  carriage 
quickly. 

From  the  moment  they  had  entered  the  past- 
ure, Mr.  Stubbs's  brother  had  shown  the  greatest 
desire  to  be  free;  and  when  he  saw  his  master 
walking  away,  while  he  was  still  a  prisoner,  he 
made  such  efforts  to  release  himself  that  he  got 
his  body  over  the  dash-board  of  the  carriage, 
and,  when  Toby  looked,  he  was  hanging  there  by 
the  neck  as  if  he  had  just  committed  suicide. 

Toby  ran  quickly  to  the  relief  of  his  pet ;  and 
when  he  had  released  him  from  his  uncomfort- 


Mr.  Stubbss  Brother.  177 

able  position,  the  other  boys  pleaded  so  hard 
that  Toby  gave  him  his  freedom,  which  he  cele- 
brated by  scampering  across  the  pasture  on  all 
four  paws,  with  his  tail  curled  up  over  his  back 
like  a  big  letter  O. 

It  seemed  very  much  as  if  Mr.  Stubbs's  brother 
would  break  up  the  rehearsal,  for  he  did  look  so 
comical  as  he  scampered  around  that  all  the  part- 
ners neglected  their  business  to  watch  and  laugh  at 
him,  until  Toby  reminded  them  that  he  could  not 
stay  there  very  long  because  of  Abner's  weakness. 

Then  Bob  and  Reddy  straightened  themselves 
up  in  a  manner  befitting  circus  proprietors,  and 
began  their  work. 

"  Leander  is  goin'  to  commence  the  show  by 
playin'  '  Yankee  Doodle,' "  said  Bob,  as  he  con- 
sulted a  few  badly  written  words  he  had  traced 
on  the  back  of  one  of  his  father's  business  cards, 
"  an'  while  he's  doin'  it  Joe'll  put  in  an'  howl  all 
he  knows  how,  for  that's  the  way  the  hyenas  did 
at  the  last  circus." 

12 


178  Mr.  Stubbs  s  Brother. 

The  entire  programme  was  evidently  to  be  car- 
ried out  that  morning,  for,  as  Bob  spoke,  Leander 
marched  with  his  accordion  and  a  great  deal  of 
dignity  to  a  rock  near  where  a  line  representing 
the  ring  had  been  cut  in  the  turf. 

"  Now  you'll  see  how  good  he  can  do  it,"  said 
Bob,  with  no  small  amount  of  pride ;  and  Leander, 
with  his  head  held  so  high  that  it  was  almost  im- 
possible to  see  his  instrument,  struck  one  or  two 
notes  as  a  prelude,  while  Joe  took  his  station  at  a 
point  about  as  far  distant  from  the  ring  as  the 
door  of  the  tent  would  probably  be. 

Leander  started  with  the  first  five  or  six  notes 
all  right,  and  Joe  began  some  of  the  most  won- 
derful howling  ever  heard,  which  appeared  to  dis- 
concert the  band,  for  he  got  entirely  off  the  track 
of  his  original  tune,  and  mixed  "  Yankee  Doodle  " 
with  "  Old  Dog  Tray  "  in  the  most  reckless  man- 
ner, Joe  howling  the  louder  at  every  false  note. 

Almost  every  one  in  that  pasture,  save  possi- 
bly the  performers  themselves,  was  astonished  at 


Mr.  Stubbs's  Brother.  1 79 

the  din  made  by  these  two  small  boys ;  and  Mr. 
Stubbs's  brother,  who  had  hung  himself  up  on 
a  tree  by  his  tail,  dropped  to  his  feet  in  the  great- 
est alarm,  adding  his  chatter  of  fear  to  the  gen- 
eral confusion. 

But  the  two  performers  were  not  to  be  daunted 
by  anything  that  could  occur ;  in  fact,  Joe  felt 
rather  proud  that  his  howling  was  so  savage  as  to 
frighten  the  monkey,  and  he  increased  his  efforts 
until  his  face  was  as  red  as  a  nicely  boiled  beet. 

For  fully  five  minutes  the  overture  was  con- 
tinued ;  then  the  band  stopped  and  looked  around 
with  an  air  of  triumph,  while  Joe  uttered  two  or 
three  more  howls  by  way  of  effect,  and  to  show 
that  he  could  have  kept  it  up  longer  had  it  been 
necessary. 

"  There !  what  do  you  think  of  that  ?"  asked 
Reddy,  in  delight.  "  You  couldn't  get  much  more 
noise  if  you  had  a  whole  band,  could  you  ?" 

"  It's  a  good  deal  of  noise,"  said  Toby,  not  feel- 
ing quite  at  liberty  to  express  exactly  his  views 


s8o  Mr.  Stubbss  Brother. 

regarding  the  music ;  "  but  what  was  it  Leander 
was  playin'  T 

"  I  played  two  tunes,"  replied  Leander,  proud- 
ly. "  I  can  play  '  Yankee  Doodle '  with  the  whole 
of  one  hand ;  but  I  think  it  sounds  better  to  play 
that  with  iny  thumb  and  two  fingers,  an'  '  Old 
Dog  Tray '  with  the  other  two  fingers.  You  see, 
I  can  give  'em  both  tunes  at  once  that  way." 

The  monkey  went  back  to  the  tree  as  soon  as 
the  noise  had  subsided ;  but,  from  the  way  he 
looked  over  his  shoulder  now  and  then,  one  could 
fancy  he  was  getting  ready  to  run  at  the  first 
sign  that  it  was  to  commence  again. 

"  Didn't  that  sound  like  a  whole  cageful  of 
hyenas?"  asked  Joe,  as  he  wiped  the  perspiration 
from  his  face,  and  came  towards  his  partners. 
"  I  can  keep  that  up  about  as  long  as  Leander 
can  play,  only  it's  awful  hard  work." 

Toby  had  no  doubt  as  to  the  truth  of  that 
statement;  but  before  he  could  make  any  reply, 
Bob  said: 


Mr.  Stubbss  Brother.  181 

"  Now,  this  is  where  Ben  comes  in.  He  starts 
the  show,  an'  he  ends  it,  an'  I  sing  right  after  he 
gets  through  turnin'  hand-springs  this  first  time. 
Now,  Leander,  you  start  the  music  jest  as  soon  as 
Ben  comes,  an'  keep  it  up  till  he  gets  through." 

Ben  was  prepared  for  his  portion  of  the  work. 
His  trousers  were  belted  tightly  around  his  waist 
by  a  very  narrow  leather  belt,  with  an  enormously 
large  buckle,  and  his  shirt-sleeves  were  rolled  up 
as  high  as  he  could  get  them,  in  order  to  give  full 
play  to  his  arms. 

"He's  been  rubbin'  goose-grease  all  over  him 
for  as  much  as  two  weeks,  an'  he  can  bend  almost 
any  way,"  whispered  Reddy  to  Toby,  as  Ben  stood 
swinging  his  arms  at  the  entrance  to  the  ring,  as 
if  limbering  himself  for  the  work  to  be  done. 

Leander  started  "  Yankee  Doodle  "  in  slow  and 
solemn  strains ;  Ben  gathered  himself  for  a  mighty 
effort,  and  began  to  go  around  the  ring  in  a  series 
of  hand-springs  in  true  acrobatic  style. 


CHAPTER  XLLL 

THE  RESULTS  OF  LONG  TRAINING. 

MR.  STUBBS'S  brother  had  been  a  close  observer 
of  all  that  was  going  on,  probably  to  guard  against 
another  sudden  fright  such  as  the  overture  had 
given  him,  and  the  moment  Ben  commenced  to 
revolve  he  leaped  from  the  tree,  running  with  full 
speed  towards  the  whirling  acrobat. 

Toby  started  to  catch  him,  but  the  monkey 
was  too  quick  in  his  movements :  before  any  one 
could  prevent  him  he  had  caught  the  revolving 
boy  by  one  leg,  and  for  a  few  seconds  it  was  dif- 
ficult to  tell  which  was  Ben  and  which  the  mon- 
key. 

Of  course  such  an  interruption  as  that  broke 
up  the  performance  for  the  time  being,  and  Toby 


Mr.  Stubbss  Brother.  183 

was  obliged  to  exert  all  his  authority  to  disen- 
tangle the  monkey  from  the  performer. 

"I  knew  it  wouldn't  do  to  let  him  be  loose," 
said  Toby,  in  a  half- apologetic  tone.  "  Now  I'll 
set  here  an'  hold  him  while  you  commence  over 
again,  Ben." 

"  Well,  now,  be  sure  you  hold  him,"  said  Ben, 
seriously,  "for  I  don't  want   him  to   catch   me 
again  when  I'm  goin'  'round  so  fast,  for  it  hurts, 
a  feller  to  tumble  the  way  he  made  me." 

Bob  offered  to  help  hold  the  unruly  monkey, 
and,  when  he  and  Toby  had  taken  a  firm  grip  on 
the  collar,  the  music  was  started  again,  and  Ben 
recommenced  his  performance. 

This  time  he  got  through  with  it  in  a  highly 
successful  and  creditable  manner;  he  proved  to 
be  a  really  good  acrobat,  so  far  as  turning  hand- 
springs and  standing  on  his  head  were  concerned, 
and  Toby  felt  certain  that  this  portion  of  the  en- 
tertainment would  be  pleasing. 

Bob  now  went  into  the  ring,  and  began  to  sing 


184  Mr.  Stubbss  Brother. 

the  "  Suwanee  River"  in  a  manner  which  he  in. 
tended  should  captivate  his  audience;  but  he 
had  neglected  to  give  the  band  any  orders,  and 
the  consequence  was  that,  when  he  commenced 
to  sing,  Leander  began  to  play  "  Old  Dog  Tray," 
a  proceeding  which  mixed  the  musical  matters 
considerably. 

"You  mustn't  do  that,  Leander,"  Bob  said, 
sharply,  after  he  had  done  his  best  to  sing  the 
band  down,  and  failed  in  the  attempt.  "  It  won't 
do  for  you  to  play  one  thing  while  I'm  tryin'  to 
sing  something  else.  Now,  you  be  restin'  while 
I'm  doin'  my  part." 

Leander  was  so  deeply  interested  in  the  enter- 
prise that  he  was  perfectly  willing  to  keep  on 
playing  without  ever  thinking  of  taking  a  rest ; 
but  in  deference  to  Bob's  wishes  he  ceased  his 
efforts,  although  he  did  venture  to  remark  that 
he  noticed  particularly,  when  the  real  circus  was 
there,  that  the  band  always  played  when  the 
clown  sang. 


Mr.  Stubbss  Brother.  185 

Bob  got  along  very  well  with  his  portion  of 
the  rehearsal  after  the  first  mistake  had  been  rec- 
tified ;  and  when  he  finished  he  bowed  gracefully 
in  response  to  the  applause  bestowed  upon  him. 

"  Now's  the  time  when  you  come  in,  Toby," 
said  Bob ;  "  an'  if  you'll  see  how  you  can  ride  the 
ponies,  Joe'll  run  around  the  ring  with  'em." 

Toby  was  willing  to  do  his  share  of  the  work, 
and  all  the  more  so  because  he  could  see  that 
Abner,  from  his  cosy  seat  under  the  bushes,  was 
deeply  interested  in  all  that  was  going  on. 

Joe  got  one  of  the  ponies  while  Toby  made  his 
preparations ;  and  after  the  little  horse  had  been 
led  around  the  circle  two  or  three  times  to  show 
what  was  expected  of  him,  Toby  got  on  his  back. 
This  was  Reddy's  opportunity  to  act  the  part  of 
ring-master,  and  he  seized  his  long  whip,  stand- 
ing in  the  centre  of  the  ring,  in  what  he  believed 
to  be  the  proper  attitude. 

"  Run  around  with  him  till  I  tell  you  to  let  go," 
said  Toby,  as  he  tied  the  reins  together  to  form  a 


1 86  Mr.  Stubbss  Brother. 

bridle,  and  then  stood  on  the  pony's  back  as  Mr 
Castle  had  taught  him  to  do. 

There  was  so  great  a  difference  between  the 
motion  of  this  horse  and  that  of  the  one  owned 
by  Mr.  Douglass,  that  Toby  began  to  understand 
it  might  be  quite  as  necessary  to  train  the  animal 
as  its  rider. 

Owing  to  his  lack  of  practice  he  was  a  little 
clumsy;  but  after  one  or  two  attempts  he  went 
around  the  ring  standing  on  one  foot,  almost 
as  well  as  he  had  done  it  when  with  Ella. 

The  boys,  who  had  never  seen  Toby  ride  be- 
fore, were  thoroughly  elated  by  the  brief  exhibi- 
tion he  gave  them ;  and  .if  he  had  done  as  they 
wanted,  he  would  have  tired  both  himself  and  the 
pony  completely. 

"  I'll  practise  some,  now  Abner  can  come  out," 
said  Toby,  as  he  led  his  steed  to  a  spot  where 
he  could  get  more  grass,  but  neglected  to  fasten 
him ;  "  an'  I  wouldn't  wonder  if  I  could  ride  two 
at  once,  after  a  little  while." 


Mr.  Studdss  Brother.  187 

His  partners  in  the  enterprise  were  more  than 
delighted  with  their  rider,  and  they  already  began 
to  believe  they  should  have  such  a  circus  as 
would,  in  some  points,  eclipse  the  real  one  that 
had  lately  visited  the  town. 

After  the  excitement  caused  by  Toby's  riding 
had  in  a  measure  died  away,  Ben  continued  with 
his  feats  according  to  the  programme,  and  then 
Bob  commenced  his  second  song. 

The  audience  of  partners  were  listening  to  it 
intently,  the  more  because  it  seemed  to  them  that 
Bob  had  made  a  mistake  as  to  the  tune,  and  they 
were  anxious  to  see  what  he  was  going  to  do 
about  it — when  the  pony  Toby  had  been  riding 
suddenly  dashed  into  the  ring,  with  what  looked 
very  like  a  boy  on  his  back. 

The  partners  were  amazed  at  this  interruption, 
and  Bob  continued  to  sound  the  note  he  was 
wrestling  with  when  he  first  saw  the  pony  com- 
ing towards  him,  until  it  ended  almost  in  a  shriek. 

"Who  is  it?"  cried  Joe,  as  the  pony  dashed 


1 88  Mr.  Stubbs's  Brother. 

across  the  pasture,  urged  to  full  speed  by  its  rider, 
and  in  an  instant  more  all  saw  a  long  curling  tail, 
which  showed  unmistakably  who  the  culprit  was. 

"It's  Mr.  Stubbs's  brother!"  cried  Toby,  in 
alarm,  "  and  how  shall  we  catch  him  ?" 

It  was,  indeed,  the  monkey,  and  during  the  next 
ten  minutes  it  seemed  to  the  boys  that  they  ran 
over  every  square  foot  of  that  pasture,  scaring  the 
cows  and  tiring  themselves,  until  the  frightened 
little  horse  was  penned  up  in  one  corner,  and  his 
disagreeable  rider  was  taken  from  him. 

This  last  act  of  the  rehearsal  had  occupied  so 
much  time,  and  the  monkey  was  making  himself 
so  troublesome,  that  Toby  decided  to  go  home, 
the  others  promising  to  come  to  Uncle  Daniel's 
barn  that  afternoon,  when  Reddy  was  to  explain 
how  the  tent  was  to  be  procured,  a  matter  which, 
up  to  this  time,  he  had  kept  a  profound  secret 
from  all  but  Bob. 

Short  as  the  time  spent  at  the  rehearsal  seemed 
to  the  boys,  it  was  considerably  too  long  for  one 


Mr.  Stubbss  Brother.  1 89 

in  Abner's  weak  condition,  as  was  evident  from 
his  face  when  Aunt  Olive  carne  to  the  door  to 
help  him  out  of  the  carriage. 

He  seemed  thoroughly  exhausted,  and,  as  soon 
as  he  got  into  the  house,  asked  to  be  allowed  to  lie 
down — a  confession  of  weakness  that  gave  Aunt 
Olive  a  great  deal  of  uneasiness,  because  she  con- 
sidered herself  in  a  great  measure  responsible  for 
the  ride  and  its  results,  as  she  had  urged  Abner 
to  go  before  the  doctor's  advice  had  been  heard 
in  the  matter. 

Toby's  fears  regarding  the  invalid  were  always 
reflections  of  Aunt  Olive's ;  but  when  he  saw  Ab- 
ner go  to  sleep  so  quickly,  he  thought  she  was 
alarmed  without  cause,  and  believed  his  friend 
would  be  quite  himself  as  soon  as  he  should 
awaken. 

Dinner-time  came  and  passed,  and  Abner  was 
still  sleeping  sweetly.  Therefore  Toby  could  see 
no  reason  why  he  should  not  join  his  partners, 
whom  he  saw  going  into  the  barn  before  dinner 
was  over. 


1 90  Mr.  Stubbss  Brother. 

"  The  boys  have  come  up  to  see  'bout  the  tent," 
he  said  to  Aunt  Olive,  "an'  I'm  goin'  out  to  the 
barn,  where  they're  waitin'  for  me.  Will  you  call 
me  when  Abner  wakes  up  ?" 

Aunt  Olive  promised  that  he  should  be  inform- 
ed as  soon  as  the  sick  boy  could  see  him,  and 
Toby  joined  his  partners  with  never  a  fear  but 
that  Abner  would  soon  be  able  to  participate  in 
all  his  sports. 

.That  the  boys  had  come  to  Uncle  Daniel's  barn 
on  very  serious  business  was  evident  from  their 
faces,  and  the  two  large  packages  they  brought. 

Two  rolls  of  what  looked  to  be  sail-cloth  were 
lying  on  the  barn  floor,  and  around  them  Bob, 
Reddy,  Joe,  Ben,  and  Leander  were  seated  with  a 
look  on  their  faces  that  was  very  nearly  a  troub- 
led one. 

"  What's  them  ?"  asked  Toby,  in  surprise,  as  he 
pointed  to  the  bundles. 

"  The  tent,"  and  Reddy  gave  a  big  sigh  as  he 
spoke. 


Mr.  Stubbs's  Brother.  191 

"  What,  have  you  got  two  ?"  asked  Toby,  a  look 
of  glad  surprise  showing  itself  on  his  face. 

Reddy  shook  his  head. 

"  What's  the  matter  ?  If  there  hain't  two  tents 
here,  what  makes  the  two  bundles  ?"  And  Toby 
was  almost  impatient  because  he  could  not  under- 
stand the  matter. 

"  Well,  you  see,  this  is  just  how  it  is,"  said 
Reddy,  as  he  began  to  untie  the  fastenings  from 
the  rolls  of  canvas.  "  When  I  told  you  I  could 
get  a  tent,  I'd  asked  Captain  Whetmore  to  lend 
me  two  of  the  sails  what  he  took  off  his  schooner, 
an'  he  told  me  yes." 

"  An'  you've  got  'em,  haven't  you  ?"  and  Toby 
looked  meaningly  at  the  canvas. 

"Yes,  we've  got  'em,"  replied  Joe ;  "  but  now  we 
don't  know  how  to  fix  'em,  'cause  you  see  we've 
got  to  put  'em  up  like  a  roof,  an'  we  hain't  got 
anything  for  the  ends." 

Reddy  had  planned  to  use  each  of  the  sails  as 
a  side  to  the  tent,  fastening  them  along  the  top  to 


192  Mr.  Stubbss  Brother. 

a  ridge-pole ;  and  it  had  never  occurred  to  him,  in 
all  the  time  he  had  had  to  think  the  matter  over, 
that  as  yet  he  had  nothing  with  which  to  form 
the  ends. 

It  was  a  question  that  puzzled  the  boys  greatly, 
and  caused  their  faces  to  grow  very  long,  until 
Toby  said: 

"I'll  tell  you  how  we  can  fix  one  end.  We 
can  put  it  right  up  against  the  barn,  where  the 
little  door  is,  an'  then  we  can  have  the  stalls  for 
a  dressin'-room." 

The  faces  of  the  partners  lightened  at  once, 
and  each  wondered  why  he  had  not  thought  of 
such  a  plan. 

"  An'  I'll  tell  you  how  we  could  fix  the  other 
end,"  said  Toby  quickly,  as  another  happy  thought 
presented  itself.  "  If  Mr.  Mansfield  would  lend 
us  his  big  flag,  it  would  jest  do  it." 

"  That's  the  very  thing,  an'  I'll  go  an'  ask  him 
now;"  and  Bob  started  out  of  the  barn  at  full 
speed,  while  Reddy,  now  that  the  important  ques- 


'Mr.  Stubbs's  Brother.  195 

tion  was  settled,  displayed  great  alacrity  in  unroll- 
ing his  treasures. 

The  sails  were  not  in  a  remarkable  state  of 
preservation,  or  Captain  Whetmore  would  not 
have  taken  them  from  his  vessel ;  but  Reddy  ex- 
plained that  the  holes  could  be  closed  up  by 
pasting  paper  over  them,  or  by  each  boy  borrow- 
ing a  sheet  from  his  mother  and  pinning  it  up 
underneath. 

One  of  the  sails  was  considerably  larger  than 
the  other;  but  Reddy  had  also  thought  of  this, 
and  proposed  to  make  them  look  the  same  size 
by  "  tucking  one  in  "  at  the  end. 

Bob  returned  before  the  sails  had  been  thor- 
oughly inspected,  and  brought  with  him  the  cov- 
eted flag,  thus  showing  he  had  been  successful  in 
his  mission. 

"  Now  let's  put  it  right  up,  an'  then  we  can 
build  our  ring,  an'  do  our  practisin'  there  instead 
of  goin'  up  to  the  pasture,"  suggested  Ben. 

Since  there  was  no  reason  why  this  should  not 


196  Mr.  Stubbss  BrotJier. 

be  done,  Bob  and  Ben  started  for  the  woods  to 
cut  some  young  trees  with  which  to  make  a  ridge- 
pole and  posts,  while  the  others  carried  the  can- 
vas  out-of-doors,  and  made  calculations  as  to  where 
and  how  it  should  be  put  up. 

When  they  commenced  work,  they  had  no  idea 
but  that  it  would  be  completed  before  supper- 
time  ;  but  when  the  village  clock  struck  the  hour 
of  five,  they  had  not  finished  making  the  necessary 
poles  and  pegs. 

"  We  can't  come  anywhere  near  getting  it  done 
to-night,"  said  Toby,  surprised  at  the  lateness  of 
the  hour,  and  wondering  why  Aunt  Olive  had  not 
called  him  as  she  had  promised.  "  Let's  put  the 
sails  back  in  the  barn,  an'  to-morrow  mornin'  we 
can  begin  early,  an'  have  it  all  done  by  noon." 

There  was  no  hope  that  they  could  complete 
the  work  that  night.  Therefore  Toby's  advice 
was  followed;  and  when  the  partners  separated, 
each  promised  to  be  ready  for  work  early  the 
next  morning. 


CHAPTER  XIV. 

RAISING  THE  TENT. 

TOBY  went  into  the  house,  feeling  rather  un- 
easy because  he  had  not  been  called;  but  when 
Aunt  Olive  told  him  that  Abner  had  aroused 
from  his  slumber  but  twice,  and  then  only  for  a 
moment,  he  had  no  idea  of  being  worried  about 
his  friend,  although  he  did  think  it  a  little  singu- 
lar he  should  sleep  so  long. 

That  evening  Dr.  Abbot  called  again,  although 
he  had  been  there  once  before  that  day;  and 
when  Toby  saw  how  troubled  Uncle  Daniel 
and  Aunt  Olive  looked  after  he  had  gone,  he 
asked ; 

"  You  don't  think  Abner  is  goin'  to  be  sick,  do 
you?" 


198  Mr.  Stubbss  Brother. 

Uncle  Daniel  made  no  reply,  and  Aunt  Olive 
did  not  speak  for  some  moments ;  then  she  said : 

"  I  am  afraid  he  stayed  out  too  long  this  morn- 
ning;  but  the  doctor  hopes  he  will  be  better  to- 


morrow." 


If  Toby  had  not  been  so  busily  engaged  plan- 
ning for  Abner  to  see  the  work  next  day,  he 
would  have  noticed  that  the  sick  boy  was  not 
left  alone  for  more  than  a  few  moments  at  a 
time,  and  that  both  Uncle  Daniel  and  Aunt  Olive 
seemed  to  have  agreed  not  to  say  anything  dis- 
couraging to  him  regarding  his  friend's  illness. 

When  he  went  to  bed  that  night,  he  fancied 
Uncle  Daniel's  voice  trembled,  as  he  said : 

"May  the  good  God  guard  and  spare  you  to 
me,  Toby,  boy ;"  but  he  gave  no  particular  thought 
to  the  matter,  and  the  sandman  threw  dust  in  his 
eyes  very  soon  after  his  head  was  on  the  pillow. 

In  the  morning  his  first  question  was  regard- 
ing Abner,  and  then  he  was  told  that  his  friend 
was  not  nearly  so  well  as  he  had  been;  Aunt 


Mr.  Stubbss  Brother.  199 

Olive  even  said  that  Toby  had  better  not  go  into 
the  sick-room,  for  fear  of  disturbing  the  invalid. 

"  Go  on  with  your  play  by  yourself,  Toby,  boy, 
and  that  will  be  a  great  deal  better  than  trying 
to  have  Abner  join  you,  until  he  is  much  better," 
said  Uncle  Daniel,  kindly. 

"  But  hain't  he  goin'  to  have  a  ride  this  morn- 
in'?" 

"  No,  he  is  not  well  enough  to  get  up.  You 
go  on  building  your  tent,  and  you  will  be  so  near 
the  house  that  you  can  be  called  at  any  moment, 
if  Abner  asks  for  you." 

Toby  was  considerably  disturbed  by  the  fact 
that  he  was  not  allowed  to  see  his  friend,  and  by 
the  way  Uncle  Daniel  spoke ;  but  he  went  out  to 
the  barn  where  his  partners  were  already  wait- 
ing for  him,  feeling  all  the  more  sad  now  because 
of  his  elation  the  day  before. 

He  had  no  heart  for  the  work,  and,  after  tell- 
ing the  boys  that  Abner  was  sick  again,  proposed 
to  postpone  operations  until  he  should  get  bet- 


2OO  Mr.  Stubbss  Brother. 

ter ;  but  they  insisted  that  as  they  were  so  near 
the  house,  it  would  be  as  well  to  go  on  with  the 
work  as  to  remain  idle,  and  Toby  could  offer  no 
argument  to  the  contrary. 

Although  he  did  quite  as  much  towards  the 
putting-up  of  the  tent  as  the  others  did,  it  was 
plain  to  be  seen  that  he  had  lost  his  interest  in 
anything  of  the  kind,  and  at  least  once  every  half- 
hour  he  ran  into  the  house  to  learn  how  the  sick 
boy  was  getting  on. 

All  of  Aunt  Olive's  replies  were  the  same :  Ab- 
ner  slept  a  good  portion  of  the  time,  and  during 
the  few  moments  he  was  awake  said  nothing, 
except  in  answer  to  questions.  He  did  not  com- 
plain of  any  pain,  nor  did  he  appear  to  take  any 
notice  of  what  was  going  on  around  him. 

"  I  think  it's  because  he  got  all  tired  out  yes- 
terday, an'  that  he'll  be  himself  again  to-morrow," 
said  Aunt  Olive,  after  Toby  had  come  in  for  at 
least  the  sixth  time,  and  she  saw  how  worried  he 
was. 


Mr.  Stubbs's  Brother.  201 

r 

This  hopeful  remark  restored  Toby  to  some- 
thing very  near  his  usual  good  spirits ;  and  when 
he  went  back  to  his  work  after  that,  his  partners 
were  pleased  to  see  him  take  more  interest  in 
what  was  going  on. 

The  tent  was  up  firmly  enough  to  resist  any 
moderate  amount  of  wind,  but  it  did  not  look 
quite  so  neat  as  it  would  have  done  had  it  not 
been  necessary  to  perform  the  operation  of  "  tuck- 
ing in"  one  end,  which  made  that  side  hang  in 
folds  that  were  by  no  means  a  pleasing  addition 
to  the  general  appearance. 

The  small  door  of  the  barn,  over  which  the 
tent  was  placed,  served  instead  of  a  curtain  to 
their  dressing  -  room ;  and  at  one  side  of  it,  on 
an  upturned  barrel,  arrangements  were  made  for 
a  band-stand. 

Mr.  Mansfield's  flag  covered  the  one  end  com- 
pletely, and  all  the  boys  thought  it  gave  a  better 
appearance  to  the  whole  than  if  they  had  made 
it  wholly  of  canvas. 


2O2  Mr.  Stubbss  Brother. 

The  ring,  which  Reddy  marked  out  almost  be- 
fore  the  tent  was  up,  occupied  nearly  the  whole 
of  the  interior ;  but  since  they  did  not  intend  to 
have  any  seats  for  their  audience,  it  was  thought 
there  would  be  plenty  of  room  for  all  who  would 
come  to  see  them.  The  main  point  was  to  have 
the  ring,  and  to  have  it  as  nearly  like  that  of  a 
regular  circus  as  possible,  while  the  audience 
could  be  trusted  to  take  care  of  itself. 

The  animals  to  be  exhibited  were  to  be  placed 
in  small  cages  at  each  corner.  Reddy  had  at 
first  insisted  that  each  cage  should  be  on  a  cart 
to  make  it  look  well ;  but  he  gave  up  that  idea 
when  Bob  pointed  out  to  him  that  six  mice  or 
two  squirrels  would  make  rather  a  small  show 
in  a  wagon,  and  that  they  would  be  obliged  to 
enlarge  their  tent  if  they  carried  out  that  plan, 
even  provided  they  could  get  the  necessary 
number  of  carts,  which  was  very  doubtful. 

In  the  matter  of  getting  sheets  from  their 
toothers  they  had  not  been  as  successful  as  they 


Mr.  Stubbss  Brother.  203 

had  anticipated.  No  one  of  the  ladies  who  had 
been  spoken  to  on  the  subject  was  willing  to 
have  her  bed-linen  decorating  the  interior  of  a 
circus -tent,  even  though  the  show  was  to  be 
only  a  little  one  for  three  cents. 

Reddy  was  quite  sure  he  could  mend  one  or 
two  of  the  largest  holes  if  he  had  a  darning-needle 
and  some  twine ;  but  after  he  got  both  from  Aunt 
Olive,  and  stuck  the  needle  twice  in  his  own 
hand,  once  in  Joe  Robinson's,  and  then  broke  it, 
he  concluded  that  it  would  be  just  as  well  to 
paste  brown  paper  over  the  holes. 

It  was  a  hard  job  to  dig  the  ground  up  in 
order  to  make  as  large  a  ring  as  the  boys  had 
marked  out,  but  by  persistent  work  it  was  ac- 
complished, as  almost  everything  can  be;  and 
then  Ben  went  to  practising,  in  order  that  he 
might,  as  he  expressed  it,  "  get  the  hang  of  the 
thing." 

Of  course,  the  fact  that  a  tent  had  been  put  up 
by  the  side  of  Uncle  Daniel's  barn  was  soon 


204  Mr.  Stubbs's  Brother. 

known  to  every  boy  in  the  village,  and  the  rush 
of  visitors  that  afternoon  was  so  great  that  Joe 
was  obliged  to  begin  his  duties  as  door-keeper  in 
advance,  in  order  to  keep  back  the  crowd. 

The  number  of  questions  asked  by  each  boy 
who  arrived  kept  Joe  so  busy  answering  them 
that,  after  every  one  in  town  knew  exactly  what 
was  going  on,  Reddy  hit  upon  the  happy  plan  of 
getting  a  large  piece  of  paper,  and  painting  on  it 
an  announcement  of  their  exhibition. 

It  was  while  he  was  absent  in  search  of  the 
necessary  materials  with  which  to  carry  out  this 
work  that  the  finishing  touches  were  put  on  the 
interior ;  and  the  partners  were  counting  the  num- 
ber of  hand-springs  Ben  could  turn  without  stop- 
ping, when  a  great  shout  arose  from  the  visitors 
outside,  and  the  circus  owners  heard  a  pattering 
and  scratching  on  the  canvas  above  their  heads. 

"Mr.  Stubbs's  brother  has  got  loose,  an'  he's 
tearin'  round  on  the  tent!"  shouted  Joe,  as  he 
poked  his  head  in  through  a  hole  in  the  flag,  and 


Mr.  Stubbss  Brother.  205 

at  the  same  time  struggled  to  keep  back  a  small 
but  bold  boy  with  his  foot. 

Toby,  followed  by  the  other  proprietors,  rushed 
out  at  this  alarming  bit  of  news,  and,  sure  enough, 
there  was  the  monkey  dancing  around  on  the  top 
of  the  tent  like  a  crazy  person,  while  the  rope  with 
which  he  had  been  tied  dangled  from  his  neck. 

It  seemed  to  Toby  that  no  other  monkey  could 
possibly  behave  half  so  badly  as  did  Mr.  Stubbs's 
brother  on  that  occasion.  He  danced  back  and 
forth  from  one  end  of  the  tent  to  the  other,  as  if 
he  had  been  a  tight-rope  performer  giving  a  free 
exhibition ;  then  he  would  sit  down  and  try  to 
find  out  just  how  large  a  hole  he  could  tear  in 
the  tender  canvas,  until  it  seemed  as  if  the  tent 
would  certainly  be  a  wreck  before  they  could  get 
him  down. 

Toby  coaxed  and  scolded,  and  scolded  and  coax- 
ed, but  all  to  no  purpose.  The  monkey  would 
clamber  down  over  the  end  of  the  tent  as  if  he 
were  about  to  allow  himself  to  be  made  a  prisoner, 


206  Mr.  Stubbs's  Brother. 

and  then,  just  as  Toby  was  about  to  catch  the  rope, 
he  would  spring  upon  the  ridge-pole  again,  chatter- 
ing with  joy  at  the  disappointment  he  had  caused. 

The  visitors  fairly  roared  with  delight,  and 
even  the  proprietors,  whose  borrowed  property 
was  being  destroyed,  could  not  help  laughing  at 
times,  although  there  was  not  one  of  them  who 
would  not  have  enjoyed  punishing  Mr.  Stubbs's 
brother  very  severely. 

"  He'll  break  the  whole  show  up  if  we  don't  get 
him  off,"  said  Bob,  as  the  monkey  tore  a  larger  hole 
than  he  had  yet  made,  and  the  crowd  encouraged 
him  in  his  mischievous  work  by  their  wild  cheers. 

"  I  know  it ;  but  how  can  we  get  him  down  V 
asked  Toby,  in  perplexity,  knowing  that  it  would 
not  be  safe  for  any  one  of  them  to  climb  upon 
the  decayed  canvas,  even  if  there  were  a  chance 
that  the  monkey  would  wait  for  them  to  catch 
him  after  they  got  there. 

"  Get  a  long  pole,  an'  scrape  him  off,"  suggest- 
ed Joe ;  but  Toby  shook  his  head,  for  he  knew 


MR.  STUBB8S  BROTHER  MISBEHAVES  HIMSELF. 


Mr.  Stubbss  Brother.  209 

that  to  "  scrape"  a  monkey  from  such  a  place 
would  be  an  impossibility. 

Bob  had  an  idea  that  if  he  had  a  rope  long 
enough  to  make  a  lasso,  he  could  get  it  around 
the  animal's  neck  and  pull  him  down ;  but  just  as 
he  set  out  to  find  the  rope,  Mr.  Stubbs's  brother 
settled  the  matter  himself. 

He  had  torn  one  hole  fully  five  inches  long, 
and  commenced  on  another  a  short  distance  from 
the  first,  when  the  thin  fabric  gave  way,  the  two 
rents  were  made  one,  and  down  fell  Mr.  Monkey, 
only  saved  from  falling  to  the  ground  by  his  chin 
catching  on  the  edges  of  the  cloth. 

There  he  hung,  his  little  round  head  just  show- 
ing above  the  canvas,  with  a  bewildered,  and,  at 
the  same  time,  discouraged  look  on  his  face. 

Toby  knew  that  it  would  be  but  a  moment 
before  the  monkey  would  get  his  paws  out  from 
under  the  canvas,  and  thus  extricate  himself  from 
his  uncomfortable  position.  Running  quickly  in- 
side the  tent,  he  seized  Mr.  Stubbs's  brother  by 

U 


2IO 


Mr.  Stubbss  Brother. 


his  long  tail,  pulling  him  completely  through,  and 
the  mischievous  pet  was  again  a  prisoner. 

It  was  a  great  disappointment  to  the  boys  on 
the  outside  when  this  portion  of  the  circus  was 
hidden  from  view;  but  it  was  equally  as  great  a 
relief  to  the  partners  that  the  destruction  of  their 
tent  was  at  last  averted. 

After  the  excitement  had  nearly  subsided,  and 
Toby  was  reading  his  pet  a  lesson  on  the  sin  of 
destructiveness,  Reddy  arrived  with  the  materials 
for  making  his  circus  poster — a  sheet  of  brown 
paper,  a  bottle  of  ink,  and  a  brush  made  by 
chewing  the  end  of  a  pine  stick. 

He  began  his  work  at  once.  It  was  a  long  task, 
but  was  at  last  accomplished,  and  when  the  part-, 
ners  went  to  their  respective  homes  that  night,  the 
following  placard  adorned  one  side  of  the  tent : 


CHAPTER  XV. 

STEALING  DUCKS. 

AFTER  Toby  had  secured  Mr.  Stubbs's  brother 
so  that  he  could  not  liberate  himself,  he  ran  into 
the  house  to  inquire  for  Abner. 

The  news  this  time  was  more  encouraging,  for 
the  sick  boy  had  awakened  thoroughly  after  his 
long  sleep,  and  had  asked  how  the  work  on  the 
tent  was  getting  on.  Aunt  Olive  thought  Toby 
could  see  him,  and,  after  promising  that  he  would 
not  remain  very  long,  or  allow  Abner  to  talk 
much,  he  went  up-stairs. 

The  crippled  boy  was  lying  in  the  bed  bolster- 
ed up  with  pillows,  looking  out  of  the  window 
that  commanded  a  view  of  the  tent,  and  evi- 
dently puzzled  to  know  whether  the  large  sheet 


212  Mr.  Stubbss  Brother. 

of  brown  paper  which  he  saw  on  one  side 
there  as  an  ornament,  or  to  serve  some  useful 
purpose. 

Toby  explained  to  him  that  it  was  the  poster 
Reddy  had  made,  and  then  told  him  all  that  had 
been  done  that  day  towards  getting  ready  for 
the  great  exhibition  which  was  to  dazzle  the 
good  people  of  Guilford,  as  well  as  to  bring  in  g 
rich  reward,  in  the  way  of  money,  to  the  managers. 

Abner  was  so  interested  in  the  matter,  and 
seemed  so  bright  and  cheerful  when  he  was  talk- 
ing about  it,  that  Toby's  fears  regarding  his  ill- 
ness were  entirely  dispelled ;  he  came  to  the  con- 
clusion that  Abner  had  simply  been  tired,  as  Aunt 
Olive  had  said,  and  that  he  would  be  better  than 
ever  by  morning. 

This  belief  was  strengthened  by  the  doctor, 
who  came  while  Toby  was  still  with  his  friend, 
and  who,  in  answer  to  a  question,  said,  cheerily : 

"  Of  course  he'll  be  all  light ;  he  may  not  be 
quite  smart  enough  to  go  out  to-morrow,  but  be- 


Mr.  Stubbs's  Brother.  213 

fore  the  week  is  ended  I'll  guarantee  that  you'll 
have  hard  work  to  keep  him  in  the  house." 

Toby's  heart  was  light  again  as  he  attended  to 
his  evening's  work ;  and  when  he  met  Joe,  on  his 
way  to  the  pasture,  he  laid  plans  for  the  coming 
exhibition  with  a  greater  zest  than  he  had  dis- 
played since  the  matter  was  first  spoken  of. 

Now  that  the  tent  was  up,  and  Abner  on  the 
sure  and  rapid  road  to  recovery,  Toby  thought  it 
quite  time  that  Mr.  Stubbs's  brother  should  be 
taught  to  take  some  part  in  the  performance. 
Joe  was  of  the  same  opinion,  and  they  decided  to 
commence  the  education  of  the  monkey  that  very 
night,  giving  him  two  or  three  -lessons  each  day 
until  he  should  be  thoroughly  trained. 

The  cows  were  not  exactly  hurried  on  the  way 
home  that  night ;  but  they  were  not  allowed  to 
loiter  by  the  roadside  when  they  saw  particularly 
tempting  tufts  of  grass,  and  as  soon  as  they  were 
in  the  barn  Mr.  Stubbs's  brother  was  taken  to  the 
tent. 


2 1 4  Mr.  Stubbss  Brother. 

He  was  in  anything  rather  than  a  good  con- 
dition for  training,  for  he  evidently  remembered 
his  frolic  of  the  afternoon,  and  was  anxious  to 
repeat  it.  Toby  thought  he  could  be  made  to 
leap  through  hoops  as  a  beginning  of  his  circus 
education,  and  all  the  energies  of  the  boys  were 
bent  to  the  accomplishment  of  this. 

But  the  monkey  was  either  remarkably  stupid 
just  then,  or  determined  to  take  no  part  in  the 
show,  for  although  Joe  held  the  hoops  until  his 
arms  ached,  and  Toby  coaxed  and  scolded  till  he 
was  hoarse,  Mr.  Stubbs's  brother  could  not  be 
persuaded  even  to  attempt  to  leap. 

"  It's  no  use  to  try  any  more  to-night,"  said 
Toby,  impatiently,  when  it  was  nearly  dark  in- 
side the  tent,  and  his  pet  was  showing  signs  of 
anger.  "  We'll  commence  the  first  thing  in  the 
mornin',  an'  I  guess  he'll  do  it." 

"  I'd  whip  him  if  I  was  you,"  said  Joe,  who  was 
thoroughly  tired,  and  angry  at  the  monkey's 
obstinacy.  "If  you  would  give  him  a  good 
switchin',  he'd  know  he'd  got  to  do  it." 


Mr.  Stubbss  Brother.  215 

"I  wouldn't  whip  him  if  he  never  did  any- 
thing," said  Toby,  as  he  hugged  his  pet  tightly, 
almost  as  if  he  feared  Joe  might  attempt,  as  one 
of  the  partners  in  the  enterprise,  to  whip  the  un- 
willing performer. 

"  'Tain't  my  monkey,  so  I  hain't  got  nothin'  to 
say  about  it,"  and  Joe  was  impatient  now ;  "  but 
if  he  was  mine,  I'll  bet  he'd  do  what  I  told 
him  to." 

It  seemed  almost  as  if  Mr.  Stubbs's  brother 
knew  what  had  been  said  about  him,  for  he  nes- 
tled close  to  Toby,  hiding  his  face  on  the  boy's 
neck  in  a  way  that  would  have  prevented  his 
master  from  whipping  him  even  if  he  had  been 
disposed  so  to  do. 

"  We'll  put  him  in  the  shed,  an'  I  guess  he'll 
be  good  enough  to  -  morrow,"  said  Toby,  cheer- 
fully; and  then,  after  fastening  the  flag  in  the 
front  of  the  tent  in  such  a  way  that  the  wind 
would  be  kept  out,  if  nothing  more,  he  and  Joe 
walked  towards  the  house,  discussing  the  ques« 


2 1 6  Mr.  Stubbss  Brother. 

tion  of  the  kind  of  tickets  they  should  use  at  the 
show. 

While  they  were  yet  some  distance  from  the 
wood -shed  in  which  Mr.  Stubbs's  brother  was 
lodged,  Aunt  Olive  called  Toby  to  come  quickly 
to  the  house. 

"You  put  him  in  the  wood -shed,  an'  fasten 
him  in  snug,"  said  Toby,  as  he  handed  the  mon- 
key to  Joe,  and  started  for  the  house  at  full 

speed. 
*  * 

Now  Joe  knew  perfectly  well  where  Mr. 
Stubbs's  brother  was  kept ;  but,  as  he  had  never 
seen  him  put  away  for  the  night,  he  was  uncer- 
tain whether  he  should  be  tied  there,  or  simply 
shut  in.  It  hardly  seemed  to  him  that  Toby 
would  leave  the  monkey  tied  up  by  the  neck  all 
night,  so  he  set  him  up  comfortably  on  a  bench, 
and  carefully  shut  the  door. 

Toby  had  been  called  to  go  to  the  druggist's 
for  some  medicine,  and  he  came  out  of  the  house 
in  such  haste,  calling  to  Joe  to  follow  him,  that 


Mr.  Stubbss  Brother.  217 

nothing  more  was  thought  of  the  insecurely  pris- 
oned monkey. 

When  Toby  returned,  it  was  so  late  that  Uncle 
Daniel  advised  him  to  go  to  bed  if  he  had  any 
desire  to  be  "  healthy,  wealthy,  and  wise,"  and  he 
obeyed  at  once. 

Positive  that  Abner  was  on  the  road  to  recov- 
ery, sure  that  all  his  work  had  been  done,  and 
with  nothing  to  trouble  him.  it  was  not  very  long 
that  Toby  lay  awake  after  he  was  once  in  bed. 

It  seemed  to  him  that  he  had  been  sleeping  a 
long  while,  when  he  was  awakened  by  the  sound 
as  of  some  one  hunting  around  in  his  room;  and, 
before  he  had  time  to  call  out,  the  candle  was 
lighted,  showing  that  the  intruder  was  Uncle  Dan- 
iel, only  partially  dressed  and  in  a  high  state  of 
excitement. 

"  What  is  it «  What's  the  matter  ?"  asked  Toby, 
in  alarm,  thinking  at  once  of  Abner,  and  fearing 
that  something  had  happened  to  him. 

"  Hush  !"  said  Uncle  Daniel,  warningly ;  "  don't 


2 1 8  Mr.  Stubbss  Brother. 

make  a  noise,  for  some  one  is  trying  to  get  into 
the  hen-house,  an'  I  am  going  to  make  an  exam- 
ple of  him.  I  suppose  it's  one  of  the  tramps  who 
went  by  here  to-day,  an'  I  want  to  find  that  gun 
I  saw  in  here  yesterday." 

There  was  such  a  weapon  in  Toby's  room,  or, 
at  least,  what  had  once  been  a  gun  was  there,  for 
a  hired  man  whom  Uncle  Daniel  had  employed 
left  it  there.  It  had  been  an  army  musket,  and 
appeared  to  have  been  used  as  a  collection  of 
materials  to  repair  other  guns  with,  for  the  en- 
tire lock,  ramrod,  and  at  least  four  inches  of  the 
stock  had  been  taken  away,  leaving  it  a  mere 
wreck  of  a  gun. 

"It's  up  there  in  the  corner  behind  the  wash- 
stand,"  said  Toby,  corning  out  of  the  bed  as  quick- 
ly as  if  he  had  tumbled  out,  and  alarmed  at  the 
thought  of  burglars.  "  It  hain't  no  good,  Uncle 
Dan'l,  for  there's  only  a  little  of  it  left." 

"It  will  do  as  well  for  me  as  a  better  one," 
said  Uncle  Daniel,  grimly.  "I  don't  want  to 


Mr.  Stubbsrs  Brother.  219 

shoot  anybody,  only  to  give  them  a  severe  fright, 
and  perhaps  capture  them." 

"Then  what'll  you  do  with  'em?"  asked  Toby 
in  a  whisper,  almost  as  much  alarmed  by  Uncle 
Daniel's  savage  way  of  speaking  as  by  the  thought 
of  the  burglars. 

"  I  don't  know,  Toby  boy— I  don't  know.  The 
tramps  do  trouble  me  greatly,  an'  I'd  like  to  make 
an  example  of  these ;  but  I  suppose  they  must  be 
hungry,  or  else  they  wouldn't  try  to  get  into  the 
hen-house.  I  guess  if  we  catch  one  we'll  give  him 
a  good  breakfast,  and  try  to  persuade  him  to  go 
to  work  like  an  honest  man." 

Uncle  Daniel's  anger  usually  had  some  such 
peaceful  ending,  as  Toby  knew ;  but  he  did  Jook 
bloodthirsty  as  he  stood  there  in  his  shirt-sleeves, 
with  one  stocking  on,  and  his  night-cap  covering 
one  ear  and  but  a  small  portion  of  his  head,  while 
he  handled  the  invalid  gun  recklessly. 

By  the  time  he  was  ready  to  go  in  search  of 
the  supposed  chicken -thief,  Aunt  Olive,  looking 


220  Mr.  Stubbss  Brother. 

thoroughly  frightened,  came  into  the  room  with  his 
other  stocking  and  his  boots  in  her  hand,  insisting 
that  he  should  put  them  on  before  he  ventured  out. 

It  must  have  been  a  very  tame  burglar  who 
would  have  continued  at  his  work  after  the  lights 
had  warned  him  that  the  inmates  of  the  house 
were  aroused;  but  Toby  did  not  think  of  that. 
He  saw  that  Aunt  Olive  had  armed  herself  with 
the  fire-shovel,  that  Uncle  Daniel  kept  a  firm  hold 
of  the  gun  even  while  he  was  trying  to  put  his 
boots  on,  and  he  was  frightened  by  the  warlike 
preparations. 

Toby  put  on  his  trousers  and  shoes  as  quickly 
as  possible,  and  when  Uncle  Daniel  was  ready  to 
start,  he  stationed  himself  directly  behind  Aunt 
Olive,  a  position  which  he  thought  would  afford 
him  a  fair  view  of  what  was  going  on,  and  at  the 
same  time  be  safe. 

"  Now  be  careful  of  that  gun,  Dan'l,  an'  don't 
go  so  far  that  they  can  hurt  you,  for  there's  no 
telling  what  they  will  do  if  they  find  out  you 


SEARCHING   FOR   THE  BURGLAR. 


Mr.  Stubbss  Brother.  223 

mean  to  catch  them,"  and  Aunt  Olive  looked 
quite  as  badly  frightened  as  did  Toby. 

"There,  there,  Olive,  don't  be  alarmed,"  said 
Uncle  Daniel,  soothingly, "  they  will  probably  run 
as  soon  as  they  see  the  gun,  and  that  will  end  it. 
I  only  hope  that  I  can  catch  one,"  and  Uncle 
Daniel  went  down  the  stairs  as  determined,  and 
savage  looking  a  man  as  ever  started  in  search  of 
a  supposed  chicken-thief. 

Aunt  Olive  insisted  on  carrying  the  candle, 
though  Uncle  Daniel  urged  that  it  would  not  be 
possible  for  him  to  surprise  the  burglars  if  she 
held  this  light  as  a  warning ;  but  she  had  no  idea 
of  allowing  him  to  go  out  where  there  was  every 
probability  that  he  would  be  in  danger,  unless 
she  could  see  what  was  going  on. 

When  the  party  reached  the  kitchen,  the  sounds 
which  came  from  the  hen-house  told  plainly  that 
the  party  they  were  in  search  of  had  not  ceased 
his  work  because  the  household  had  been  alarmed. 
The  snapping  of  wood  could  be  heard,  and  if  Aunt 


224 


Stubbss  Brother. 


Olive  had  not  been  thoroughly  aroused  before,  she 
was  then,  for  laths  were  being  broken,  and  one  of 
her  choicest  broods  of  ducks  was  secured  only 
by  such  frail  barrier  against  either  two  or  four 
legged  thieves. 

"Stop  them  quick,  or  all  the  ducks  will  be 
out,"  she  screamed  ;  and,  thus  urged,  Uncle  Daniel 
made  a  bold  stand. 

"  Get  behind  me,  and  hold  your  hand  over  the 
light,"  he  whispered,  and  then  he  shouted,  as  he 
brought  the  gun  up  to  his  shoulder  in  a  very 
threatening  manner,  "Come  out  here,  and  give 
yourselves  up  at  once." 

There  was  no  answer  made  to  this  peremptory 
command,  and,  strangely  enough,  the  work  of  de- 
struction was  continued  as  vigorously  as  if  Uncle 
Daniel  and  his  broken  gun  were  a  thousand  miles 
away,  instead  of  on  the  spot  and  ready  for  action. 

"Come  away  from  there  instantly,  and  save 
yourself  any  further  trouble,"  shouted  Uncle  Dan- 
iel  in  a  louder  voice,  stamping  his  foot,  while 


Mr.  Stubbss  Brother.  225 

Aunt  Olive  brandished  the  fire -shovel  to  give 
emphasis  to  his  words. 

There  was  silence  for  a  moment,  as  if  the  bur- 
glar had  stopped  to  consider  the  matter,  and  then 
the  work  was  continued  with  greater  energy  than 
before. 

"  Well,  I  declare !"  exclaimed  Uncle  Daniel,  as 
he  brought  the  butt  of  his  gun  down  on  his  own 
foot  with  such  force  that  he  was  obliged  to  give 
immediate  attention  to  the  wounded  member. 

Toby  had  always  had  a  wholesome  dread  of  a 
gun ;  but  his  fear  became  greater  than  ever  when 
he  saw  how  much  mischief  could  be  done  with 
one  as  near  a  total  wreck  as  that  was,  for  Uncle 
Daniel  had  seated  himself  on  the  grass,  regardless 
of  the  dew,  and  was  hugging  his  foot  as  if  he 
feared  he  should  lose  it. 


15 


CHAPTER  XVL 

A  LOST  MONKEY. 

EVEN  though  her  husband  was  wounded,  Aunt 
Olive  could  not  stop  to  offer  any  aid  while  her 
precious  ducks  were  in  such  peril,  as  the  break- 
ing of  the  laths  proved  they  were ;  and  she  start- 
ed forward  alone  and  unarmed,  save  with  the 
shovel,  until  a  loud  quacking  indicated  that  the 
robber  had  made  at  least  one  prisoner. 

Dropping  the  shovel,  but  still  clinging  to  the 
candle,  Aunt  Olive  seized  the  gun,  and,  dragging 
it  along  by  the  muzzle,  she  cried : 

"I'll  shoot  you  if  you  don't  let  them  ducks 
alone,  and  go  right  straight  away  from  here !" 

The  loud  quacking  of  another  duck  proved  that 
she  had  not  alarmed  the  burglar ;  and  as  she  was 


Mr.  Stubbs's  Brother.  227 

now  quite  near  the  bold  robber,  by  holding  her 
candle  above  her  head  she  could  discern  in  the 
darkness  what  looked  like  a  boy,  with  a  duck 
tightly  clutched  in  each  hand. 

"It's  only  a  boy,"  she  cried  to  Uncle  Daniel, 
who  had  given  over  attending  to  his  foot,  and 
was  coming  up ;  and  then,  as  she  ran  towards  the 
thief,  she  cried,  "  Put  down  them  ducks,  you  little 
rascal,  or  I  will  whip  you  soundly !" 

The  boy  did  not  put  the  ducks  down,  nor  did 
he  stay  for  the  whipping;  but,  with  both  the 
noisy  prizes  held  in  one  hand,  he  began  to  climb 
the  hen-house  in  a  manner  surprising  in  one  so 
small. 

By  this  time  both  Toby  and  Uncle  Daniel  were 
on  the  spot,  and  the  former  saw  that  the  supposed 
boy  was  using  a  long  tail  in  his  work  of  climbing 
the  hen-house. 

"It's  Mr.Stubbs's  brother;  don't  shoot  him!" 
he  cried,  forgetting,  in  his  excitement,  that  the 
gun  was  dangerous  only  when  dropped  on  one's 


228  Mr.  Stubbss  Brother. 

foot;  and  then  he  too  tried  to  climb  upon  the 
hen-house. 

"  The  monkey  ?"  cried  Uncle  Daniel,  as  he  felt 
on  his  forehead  for  his  spectacles  to  enable  him 
to  see  better.  Aunt  Olive  made  use  of  almost 
the  same  words;  but,  instead  of  feeling  for  her 
spectacles,  she  ran  towards  the  building,  as  if  she 
fancied  it  to  be  the  easiest  thing  in  the  world  to 
catch  a  mischievous  monkey. 

Toby  knew,  if  Aunt  Olive  did  not,  that  it 
would  be  the  work  of  some  time  to  catch  Mr. 
Stubbs's  brother,  and  that  no  threats  would  in- 
duce him  to  come  down.  Therefore  he  put  forth 
all  his  energies  in  the  vain  hope  of  overtaking 
him. 

Although  the  monkey  was  encumbered  by  the 
two  ducks  he  had  stolen,  he  could  climb  twice  as 
fast  as  Toby  could,  and  Aunt  Olive  realized  the 
fact  very  soon. 

"  Scare  him  till  he  drops  the  ducks,"  she  cried 
to  Toby ;  and  then,  to  do  her  portion  of  the  "  scar- 


Mr.  Stubbss  Brother.  229 

ing,"  she  brandished  the  fire -shovel,  and  cried 
"  shoo !"  in  a  very  energetic  manner. 

Uncle  Daniel  waved  his  arms,  and  shouted, 
"  Come  down  !  come  down  !"  as  he  ran  from  one 
side  of  the  building  to  the  other;  but  the  only 
reply  to  his  shout  was  the  quacking  of  the  half- 
strangled  ducks. 

"  Catch  him,  Toby,  catch  him,  before  he  kills 
the  ducks,"  cried  Aunt  Olive,  in  an  agony  of  fear 
lest  these  particular  inmates  of  her  poultry-yard 
should  be  killed. 

"That's  what  I'm  tryin'  to  do,"  panted  Toby, 
as  he  chased  Mr.  Stubbs's  brother  from  one  end 
of  the  roof  to  the  other  without  even  a  chance  of 
catching  him. 

The  quacking  of  the  ducks  was  growing  fainter 
every  moment,  and,  knowing  that  something  must 
be  done  at  once,  Uncle  Daniel  hunted  around  un« 
til  he  found  a  long  pole,  with  which  he  struck  at 
the  monkey. 

This  had  the  desired  effect,  for  Mr.  Stubbs's 


230  Mr.  Stubbss  Brother. 

brother  was  so  nearly  hit  two  or  three  times  that 
he  dropped  the  almost  dead  ducks,  curled  his  tail 
over  his  back,  and  leaped  to  the  ground.  He 
alighted  so  near  Aunt  Olive  that  she  uttered  a 
loud  shriek,  nearly  falling  backward  over  the 
wood-pile;  but  the  monkey  was  out  of  sight  in 
an  instant,  going  in  the  direction  of  the  road. 

As  his  pet  disappeared  in  the  darkness,  Toby 
scrambled  down  from  the  roof  of  the  building 
and  started  in  pursuit;  but  before  he  had  gone 
far  he  heard  Uncle  Daniel  calling  to  him,  while 
at  the  same  time  he  realized  that  pursuit  would 
be  useless  under  the  circumstances. 

"He's  run  away,  an'  I  won't  ever  find  him 
again,"  he  said,  in  so  mournful  a  tone  that  Uncle 
Daniel  knew  the  tears  were  very  near  his  eye- 
lids. 

"  He  won't  go  very  far,  Toby,  boy,"  said  Uncle 
Daniel,  consolingly, "  and  you  can  soon  find  him 
after  the  sun  rises." 

"He'll  be  more'n  seven  miles  off  by  that  time," 


Mr.  Stubbss  Brother.  231 

said  Toby,  as  he  choked  back  his  sobs,  and  tried 
to  speak  firmly. 

"  I  don't  know  much  about  the  nature  of  mon- 
keys," replied  Uncle  Daniel,  speaking  very  slow- 
ly ;  "  but  I  am  inclined  to  the  belief  that  he  will 
remain  near  here,  since  he  has  come  to  consider 
this  his  home.  But  it  will  be  daylight  in  less 
than  an  hour,  and  then  you  can  start  after  him. 
I  will  drive  the  cows  to  the  pasture,  so  that  you 
will  have  nothing  to  delay  you." 

Aunt  Olive  had  caught  up  the  ducks  as  soon 
as  Mr.  Stubbs's  brother  had  dropped  them,  and, 
believing  it  was  yet  possible  to  save  their  lives, 
she  had  started  towards  the  house  for  the  pur- 
pose of  applying  some  remedies. 

"  It's  so  near  morning  that  I  shaVt  go  to  bed 
again,"  she  said,  "  and  I'll  get  you  something  to 
eat,  and  put  up  a  lunch  for  you,  so  you  can  stay 
out  until  you  find  him." 

This  offer  on  Aunt  Olive's  part  seemed  doubly 
kind,  since  the  monkey  had  done  so  much  mis- 


23 2  Mr*  Stubbss  Brother. 

chief  among  her  pets,  and  Toby  realized  that  it 
would  be  ungrateful  in  him  to  complain,  more 
especially  as  Uncle  Daniel  and  Aunt  Olive  were 
willing  to  do  all  in  their  power  to  enable  him  to 
catch  the  fugitive. 

"I'll  mend  the  duck -pen,"  he  said,  resolutely 
putting  from  his  mind  the  thought  of  Mr.  Stubbs's 
brother,  who  he  firmly  believed  was  trudging  up 
the  road  in  the  direction  taken  by  the  circus 
when  it  left  town. 

Uncle  Daniel  thought  it  would  be  just  as  well 
to  remain  up  also,  and  he  dragged  the  wreck  of 
the  gun  into  the  house,  putting  it  carefully  away 
lest  some  one  should  be  injured  by  it,  before  he 
commenced  to  build  the  fire. 

Mr.  Stubbs's  brother  had  labored  industrious- 
ly when  he  set  about  reducing  the  duck-pen  to 
kindling-wood;  and  although  Toby  worked  as 
fast  as  possible,  it  was  nearly  time  for  the  sun  to 
rise  before  he  finished  the  job  of  repairing  it. 

By  that  time  Aunt  Olive  had  a  nice  breakfast 


Mr.  Stubbs's  Brother.  233 

ready  for  him,  and  a  generous  lunch  done  up 
neatly  in  paper. 

Abner  had  not  wakened,  therefore  Toby  was 
obliged  to  go  away  without  knowing  whether  he 
was  better  or  worse;  but  Aunt  Olive  told  him 
that  she  thought  he  need  have  no  fear  regarding 
the  invalid,  for  she  felt  certain  he  would  be  much 
better  when  he  awoke. 

Toby  ate  his  breakfast  very  hurriedly,  and  then 
started  down  the  road  in  the  direction  of  his 
partners'  homes,  for  he  thought  there  would  be 
a  better  chance  of  capturing  the  runaway  if  four 
or  five  boys  set  out  in  pursuit  than  if  he  went 
out  alone. 

Fully  two  hours  were  spent  in  arousing  his 
partners,  explaining  what  had  happened,  and  wait- 
ing for  them  to  get  their  breakfast;  but  at  the 
end  of  that  time  every  one  of  the  circus  managers 
was  ready  for  the  search. 

There  was  a  decided  difference  of  opinion 
among  them  as  to  which  direction  they  should 


234  Mr.  Stubbss  Brother. 

take,  some  believing  the  monkey  had  gone  one 
way  and  some  another,  and  the  only  plan  by 
which  the  matter  could  be  settled  was  to  divide 
the  force  into  two  parties. 

Bob,  Reddy,  and  Ben  formed  one  division,  and 
they  started  into  the  woods  in  a  nearly  straight 
line  from  Uncle  Daniel's  house.  Toby,  Joe,  and 
Leander,  making  up  the  other  party,  went  up  the 
road,  Toby  insisting  on  this  course  because  he  was 
sure  that  Mr.  Stubbs's  brother  would  attempt  to 
follow  the  circus  of  which  he  had  once  been  a 
member,  although  so  many  weeks  had  elapsed 
since  it  had  passed  along  there. 

Leander  was  of  the  opinion  that  they  ought  to 
have  borrowed  a  dog,  with  which  to  track  the 
monkey  more  easily,  and  even  offered  to  go  back 
to  get  one;  but  Toby  thought  that  would  be  a 
waste  of  valuable  time,  more  especially  as  it  was 
by  no  means  certain  that  Leander  could  procure 
the  dog  if  he  did  go  back. 

Joe  thought  each  inch  of  the  road  should  be 


Mr.  Stubbss  Brother.  237 

examined  with  a  view  to  finding  tracks  of  the 
monkey;  but  that  plan  was  given  up  in  a  very 
few  moments  after  it  was  tried,  for  the  good  rea- 
son that  the  boys  could  not  distinguish  even  their 
own  footprints,  the  road  was  beaten  so  hard ;  and 
so  they  could  only  walk  straight  ahead,  hoping 
to  come  up  with  the  fugitive,  or  to  hear  some 
news  of  him. 

At  each  house  on  the  road  they  stopped  to  ask 
if  a  stray  monkey  had  been  seen  ;  but  they  could 
hear  nothing  encouraging  until  they  had  walked 
nearly  three  miles,  and  were  just  beginning  to 
think  it  would  have  been  wiser  to  remain  with 
the  party  who  went  into  the  woods. 

At  last,  however,  a  farmer  told  them  that  he 
had  seen  an  animal  come  up  the  main  road,  just 
about  sunrise,  and  that  it  had  gone  up  through 
his  field  into  an  oak  grove.  He  had  had  no  idea 
at  the  time  that  it  was  a  monkey,  and  had  intend- 
ed to  take  his  gun  and  go  in  search  of  it  as  soon 
as  he  could  spare  the  time. 


238     .  Mr.  Stubbss  Brother. 

Toby  trembled  as  the  man  said  this,  for  Mr. 
Stubbs's  death  was  too  vivid  in  his  mind  for  him 
to  think  without  a  shudder  of  any  one  going  in 
search  of  this  monkey  with  a  gun.  He  started 
for  the  grove  at  full  speed,  fearing  that  some  one 
with  more  time  at  his  disposal  had  seen  his  pet, 
and  might  even  now  be  in  pursuit  of  him. 

Of  course  the  boys  did  not  know  certainly  that 
the  animal  the  farmer  had  seen  was  Mr.  Stubbs's 
brother,  but  all  were  quite  sure  it  was ;  and,  be- 
fore they  had  been  in  the  oak  grove  ten  minutes, 
they  saw  the  monkey  himself,  hanging  by  his  tail 
and  one  paw  from  the  branch  of  a  tree. 


CHAPTER  XVII. 

DRIVING   A   MONKEY. 

TOBY  was  so  delighted  at  seeing  his  pet  safe 
and  alive  that  he  set  up  a  great  shout ;  and  the 
monkey,  thus  warned  that  boys  who  would  chain 
him  down  to  the  drudgery  of  a  circus  ring  were 
on  his  track,  started  off  at  full  speed,  scolding 
furiously  as  he  went. 

To  catch  a  monkey  in  the  woods  was  even  a 
harder  task  than  to  "scrape"  him  from  the  tent, 
or  to  capture  him  on  the  roof  of  the  hen-house; 
but  he  must  be  caught,  and  the  three  boys  start- 
ed after  him,  fully  aware  of  the  difficult  task  be- 
fore them. 

To  Mr.  Stubbs's  brother  this  flight  and  pursuit 
was  simply  the  wildest  kind  of  a  frolic,  and  he 


340  Mr.  Stubbss  Brother. 

fairly  screamed  with  delight  as  he  leaped  from 
one  tree  to  another,  sometimes  allowing  them  al- 
most to  touch  him,  and  then  starting  off  at  full 
speed  until  nearly  out  of  sight. 

For  an  hour  this  tantalizing  work  was  contin- 
ued, and  the  pursuers  were  nearly  exhausted. 
Half  the  time  they  had  been  running  at  full 
speed,  and  the  only  chance  for  rest  had  been 
when  they  were  trying  to  creep  upon  Mr.  Stubbs's 
brother  unawares,  which  was  just  about  no  rest 
at  all. 

Leander,  who  was  naturally  a  very  slow-moving 
boy,  and  quite  fleshy,  was  more  quickly  tired  than 
the  others.  When,  for  at  least  the  twentieth 
time,  they  thought  they  had  the  monkey  within 
their  grasp,  and  he  darted  to  the  top  of  one  of 
the  tallest  trees,  Leander  declared  he  could  not 
take  another  step,  even  though  the  life  of  the 
monkey  and  the  success  of  the  circus  depended 
upon  it. 

Of  course,  it  was  not  to  be  thought  of  that  they 


Mr.  Stubbss  Brother.  24* 

should  leave  their  band  there  exhausted  and  alone, 
so  Toby  decided  they  should  rest  as  long  as  Mr. 
Stubbs's  brother  remained  in  the  tree,  and  it  was 
determined  to  occupy  the  time  by  eating  the 
luncheon  Aunt  Olive  had  prepared. 

During  the  last  ten  minutes  of  the  chase,  Lean- 
der's  face  had  worn  a  very  gloomy  expression; 
but  it  lightened  wonderfully  when  the  package 
of  food  was  opened,  and  Toby  helped  him  to  a 
very  generous  slice  of  bread  and  meat. 

Nor  was  Leander  the  only  one  who  looked  with 
favor  upon  the  food.  Mr.  Stubbs's  brother  had 
been  a  close  observer  of  all  that  was  going  on  at 
the  foot  of  the  tree  in  which  he  had  taken  refuge, 
and  he  showed  every  disposition  to  make  one  of 
the  eating  party. 

Seeing  his  evident  hunger,  Toby  was  sure  it 
would  be  possible  to  capture  the  monkey  by 
means  of  the  food,  and  he  walked  around  the 
trunk  of  the  tree,  holding  a  piece  of  ginger-bread 
temptingly  in  his  fingers. 

16 


242  Mr.  Stubbs's  Brother. 

The  monkey  came  down  from  branch  to  branch, 
as  if  he  had  decided  to  allow  himself  to  be  made 
a  prisoner  for  the  sake  of  the  food;  but,  just  as 
Toby  was  about  to  seize  him,  he  jumped  back 
with  a  cry  that  sounded  much  as  if  he  were  laugh- 
ing because  of  the  disappointment  he  had  caused. 

Then  Joe  tried  his  skill  at  monkey -catching, 
coming  about  as  near  success  as  Toby  had  done ; 
and  Leander  was  roused  to  action  by  the  new 
phase  the  chase  had  assumed.  He  too  held  out 
some  food  in  order  to  give  Mr.  Stubbs's  brother 
the  impression  that  all  he  had  to  do  was  to  come 
and  get  it. 

In  thus  trying  the  coaxing  plan,  all  three  of  the 
boys  got  on  one  side  of  the  tree,  while  the  greater 
part  of  their  provisions  was  on  the  opposite  side. 
The  monkey  descended  again,  first  towards  one 
boy  and  then  towards  another,  as  if  it  were  his 
purpose  to  allow  all  three  to  catch  him,  and  all 
were  equally  certain  they  were  about  to  succeed, 
when  Mr.  Stubbs's  brother  suddenly  ran  along 


Mr.  Stubbss  Brother.  243 

the  branches  towards  the  food.  Before  it  was 
possible  for  any  of  the  boys  to  intercept  him,  he 
had  dropped  to  the  ground,  seized  two  of  the 
very  largest  pieces  of  cake,  and  was  up  in  the  tree 
again  so  quickly  that  but  for  the  cake  he  had  in 
his  paws  it  might  have  been  doubted  whether  or 
not  he  had  been  on  the  ground  at  all. 

Now  Mr.  Stubbs's  brother  could  laugh  at  his 
pursuers,  if  it  is  possible  for  a  monkey  to  laugh ; 
for,  without  any  thanks  to  them,  he  had  a  trifle 
more  than  his  share  of  the  provisions,  and  was 
still  at  liberty. 

"  It  hain't  any  use,"  said  Joe,  in  despair,  as  he 
threw  himself  on  the  ground  and  attacked  the 
luncheon  savagely,  "  I  don't  believe  we  shall  ever 
get  him ;  an'  if  we  don't,  it  won't  be  much  use  for 
us  to  have  our  show,  for  every  real  circus  has 
a  monkey." 

"We  must  catch  him,"  replied  Toby,  mourn- 
fully, looking  up  into  the  tree  where  his  pet  sat 
eating  the  stolen  food  with  the  greatest  possible 


244  Mr.  Stubbss  Brother. 

enjoyment.  "I  wouldn't  go  home  an'  leave  him 
here  if  I  had  to  stay  all  night." 

"  One  might  watch  here  while  the  others  went 
back  to  the  village  an'  got  every  feller  there  to 
come  out  an'  help  catch  him,"  suggested  Leander, 
who  was  famous  for  having  ideas  so  brilliant  that 
no  one  could  carry  them  into  execution. 

"  We're  goin'  away  from  home  all  the  time  this 
way,"  said  Toby,  after  he  had  studied  the  matter 
carefully,  without  paying  any  attention  to  the 
suggestion  made  by  Leander ;  "  now  let's  get  a  lit- 
tle ways  the  other  side  of  the  tree,  an'  when  he 
comes  down  again  he'll  have  to  go  towards  home. 
Even  if  we  can't  catch  him,  perhaps  we  can  drive 
him  into  the  village." 

Even  Leander  could  see  the  wisdom  of  this 
plan,  and  the  party  moved  their  luncheon  and 
themselves  to  the  side  of  the  tree  opposite  to  that 
on  which  they  had  approached  it. 

Of  course  there  was  nothing  to  do  but  wait 
Mr.  Stubbs's  brother's  pleasure  in  the  matter,  and 


Mr.  Stubbss  Brother.  245 

he  seemed  to  be  in  no  haste  to  make  a  move. 
He  ate  his  cake  in  the  most  leisurely  fashion  pos- 
sible, and  then  appeared  to  be  wonderfully  inter- 
ested in  the  leaves,  for  he  would  spend  several 
minutes  pulling  one  apart,  probably  to  see  how 
it  was  made. 

But  he  was  obliged  to  come  down  at  last,  and 
he  chose  the  time  just  as  Leander  had  settled 
himself  comfortably  for  a  nap,  which  did  not  tend 
to  make  the  band  regard  him  with  additional 
favor. 

As  Toby  had  thought,  the  monkey  started  back 
in  the  direction  they  had  come;  and,  as  he  was 
going  towards  home,  they  did  not  make  any  effort 
to  hurry  him.  If  they  could  not  catch  him,  they 
could  at  least  drive  him,  and  they  were  satisfied 
to  let  him  go  as  slowly  as  he  chose — a  plan  which 
met  with  hearty  approval  from  Leander. 

For  some  time  Mr.  Stubbs's  brother  moved 
along  as  if  it  were  his  greatest  desire  to  be  back 
at  Uncle  Daniel's  again,  and  then  Toby  saw  him 


246  Mr.  Stubbss  Brother. 

run  along  swiftly  as  if  he  had  found  something 
under  a  tree  which  interested  him  greatly. 

Afraid  that  the  monkey  had  done  this  simply 
to  avoid  being  driven,  and  that  he  might  dart 
through  the  underbrush  and  get  in  rear  of  them 
again,  Toby  ran  forward  quickly ;  but  before  he 
had  taken  more  than  a  dozen  steps  he  heard 
piercing  shrieks,  which  evidently  came  from  the 
monkey,  while  the  commotion  among  the  bushes 
indicated  that  a  struggle  of  some  kind  was  tak- 
ing place  there. 

With  but  one  thought,  and  that  for  the  safety 
of  his  pet,  Toby  ran  ahead  regardless  of  the  bush- 
es that  tore  his  clothing  and  scratched  his  face. 
A  struggle  was  going  on,  as  he  saw  when  he  pull- 
ed the  branches  of  the  trees  away,  and  Mr.Stubbs's 
brother  was  getting  decidedly  the  worst  of  it. 

A  small,  prickly  ball  curled  up  at  the  foot  of 
the  tree,  and  the  monkey  striking  at  it  savagely 
with  his  paws,  while  porcupine  quills  were  stick- 
ing in  his  face  and  body,  told  the  whole  story. 


Mr.  Stubbss  Brother.  247 

The  monkey  had  seen  the  porcupine,  and,  much 
to  his  discomfort,  had  tried  to  make  that  animal's 
acquaintance.  As  every  boy  knows,  when  one  of 
these  animals  is  attacked  it  immediately  rolls  it- 
self up  into  a  ball,  with  the  quills  or  spines  stick- 
ing straight  out,  and  the  attacking  party  general- 
ly gets  plentifully  supplied  with  them  in  a  very 
short  time. 

It  was  some  moments  before  Toby  could  per- 
suade his  pet  to  stop  trying  to  inflict  punishment 
when  he  was  getting  the  greater  part  himself; 
but  he  pulled  him  away  at  last,  and  the  porcu- 
pine, unrolling  himself  with  a  grunt  of  satisfac- 
tion, trotted  away  into  the  bushes. 

There  was  no  disposition  on  the  part  of  Mr. 
Stubbs's  brother  to  run  away  again.  He  stood 
there  looking  as  sad  and  discouraged  as  a  mon- 
key ought  to  look  who  had  commenced  his  day's 
work  by  stealing  ducks,  and  concluded  it  by  fight- 
ing a  porcupine. 

The  quills  stood  out  from  his  face,  making  him 


248  Mr.  Stubbss  Brother. 

look  as  if  sadly  in  need  of  shaving,  while  on 
almost  every  inch  of  his  body  there  was  one  of 
these  natural  weapons,  giving  him  a  decidedly 
comical  appearance. 

As  he  stood  there  holding  out  his  paws  to 
Toby  as  if  asking  him  to  extract  the  spines,  and 
squinting  down  now  and  then  at  those  in  his  face, 
the  boys  did  not  try  to  restrain  their  laughter, 
which  appeared  to  make  the  inquisitive  monkey 
very  angry. 

He  screamed  and  scolded  in  the  shrillest  tones 
until  Toby  set  about  picking  out  the  quills  for 
him,  and  Joe  took  a  firm  hold  of  his  collar,  to 
make  sure  he  should  not  escape  when  he  was 
relieved  from  the  effects  of  his  introduction  to 
the  porcupine. 


CHAPTER  XVIII. 

COLLECTING  THE  ANIMALS. 

IT  was  quite  a  task  to  extract  the  porcupine 
quills  from  Mr.  Stubbs's  brother,  because  the  op- 
eration was  painful,  and  he  danced  about  in  a 
way  that  seriously  interfered  with  the  work. 

But  the  last  one  was  out  after  a  time,  and  the 
monkey  was  marched  along  between  Joe  and 
Toby,  looking  very  repentant  now  that  he  was  in 
his  master's  power  again. 

"  I  tell  you  what  it  is,"  said  Joe,  sagely,  after 
he  had  walked  awhile  in  silence  as  if  studying 
some  matter,  "  we'd  better  get  about  six  big 
chains  an'  fasten  Mr.  Stubbs's  brother  to  the 
tent;  'cause  if  we  keep  on  tryin'  to  train  him, 
he'll  keep  on  gettin'  loose,  an'  before  he  gets 
through  with  it,  we  sha'n't  have  any  show  left." 


252  Mr.  Stubbss  Brother. 

"I  think  that's  the  best  thing  we  can  do," 
panted  Leander;  "  'cause  if  all  hands  of  us  has  to 
start  out  many  times  like  this,  some  of  the  boys 
will  come  up  while  we're  off,  an'  pull  the  tent 
down." 

"  We  can  tie  him  in  the  tent,  and  have  him  for 
a  wild  man  of  Borneo,"  suggested  Joe. 

"I  guess  we  won't  train  him,"  replied  Toby, 
rather  sorry  to  deprive  his  pet  of  the  pleasure  of 
being  one  of  the  performers,  and  yet  fearing  the 
trouble  he  would  cause  if  they  should  try  to  make 
anything  more  than  an  ordinary,  monkey  out  of 
him. 

The  pursuit  had  led  the  boys  farther  from  home 
than  they  had  imagined,  and  it  was  noon  when, 
weary  and  hungry,  they  arrived  at  the  tent,  where 
they  found  the  other  party,  who  had  given  up 
the  search  some  time  before.  They  had  travelled 
through  the  woods  without  hearing  or  seeing  any- 
thing of  the  runaway,  and  had  returned  in  the 
hope  that  the  others  had  been  more  successful. 


Mr.  Stubbss  Brother.  253 

Leaving  Mr.  Stubbs's  brother  in  charge  of  the 
partners,  who,  it  was  safe  to  say,  would  now  take 
very  good  care  to  prevent  his  escape,  Toby  hurried 
into  the  house  to  see  Abner. 

The  sick  boy  was  no  better,  Aunt  Olive  said, 
neither  did  he  appear  to  be  any  worse — he  was 
sleeping  then ;  and,  after  eating  some  of  his  din- 
ner at  the  table,  and  taking  the  remainder  in  his 
hands,  Toby  went  out  to  the  tent  again. 

He  found  his  partners  indulging  in  an  animated 
discussion  as  to  when  the  performance  should  be 
given. 

Keddy  was  in  favor  of  having  it  within  two  or 
three  days  at  furthest ;  Bob  thought  that,  as  Mr. 
Stubbs's  brother  was  not  to  be  one  of  the  per- 
formers, there  was  no  reason  for  delay. 

All  the  others  were  of  the  same  opinion,  but 
Toby  urged  them  to  wait  until  Abner  could  take 
part  in  it. 

To  this  Bob  had  a  very  reasonable  objection: 
in  two  weeks  more  school  would  begin,  and  then, 


2 54  Mr.  Stubbss  Brother. 

of  course,  the  circus  would  be  out  of  the  question. 
If  their  first  exhibition  should  be  a  success,  as  it 
undoubtedly  would  be,  they  could  give  a  second 
performance  when  Abner  should  get  well  enough 
to  attend  it ;  and  that  would  be  quite  as  pleasing 
to  him  as  for  all  the  talent  to  remain  idle  while 
waiting  for  his  recovery. 

Toby  felt  that  his  partners  asked  him  to  do 
only  that  which  was  fair ;  the  circus  scheme  had 
already  done  Abner  more  harm  than  good,  and, 
as  he  did  not  seem  to  be  dangerously  sick,  it 
would  be  unkind  to  the  others  to  insist  on  wait- 
ing. 

"I'd  rather  Abner  was  with  us  when  we  had 
the  first  show,"  said  Toby ;  "  but  I  s'pose  it'll  be 
just  as  well  to  go  ahead  with  it,  an'  then  give 
another  after  he  can  come  out." 

"Then  we'll  have  it  Saturday  afternoon;  an' 
while  Reddy's  fixin'  up  the  tickets,  Ben  an'  I'll 
get  the  animals  up  here,  so's  to  see  how  they'll 
look,  an'  to  let  'em  get  kinder  used  to  the  tent." 


Mr.  Stubbss  Brother.  255 

Reddy  was  a  boy  who  did  not  believe  in  wast- 
ing any  time  after  a  matter  was  decided  upon, 
and  almost  as  soon  as  Toby  consented  to  go  on 
with  the  show,  he  went  for  materials  with  which 
to  make  posters  and  tickets. 

His  activity  aroused  the  others,  and  all  started 
out  to  bring  in  the  animals,  leaving  Toby  to 
guard  Mr.  Stubbs's  brother  and  the  tent.  The 
canvas  would  take  care  of  itself,  so  long  as  it  was 
unmolested,  but  the  other  portion  of  Toby's  charge 
was  not  so  easily  managed.  After  much  thought, 
however,  he  settled  the  monkey  question  by  tying 
Mr.  Stubbs's  brother  to  the  end  pole,  with  a  rope 
long  enough  to  allow  him  to  climb  nearly  to  the 
top,  but  short  enough  to  keep  him  at  a  safe  dis- 
tance from  the  canvas. 

By  the  time  this  was  done,  Ben  arrived  with 
the  first  instalment  of  curiosities.  His  crowing 
hen  he  had  under  his  arm,  and  Mrs.  Simpson's 
three-legged  cat  and  four  kittens  he  brought  in  a 
basket. 


256  Mr.  Stubbss  Brother. 

"  Joe's  got  a  cage  'most  built  for  the  hen,  an1 
I'll  fix  one  for  the  cat  this  afternoon,"  he  said,  as 
he  seated  himself  on  the  basket,  and  held  the  hen 
in  his  lap. 

"You  can't  fix  it  if  you've  got  to  hold  her," 
said  Toby,  as  he  brought  from  the  barn  a  bushel- 
basket,  which  was  converted  into  a  coop  by 
turning  it  bottom  side  up,  and  putting  the  hen 
underneath  it. 

Ben  was  about  to  make  a  search  of  the  barn 
for  the  purpose  of  finding  some  materials  with 
which  to  build  the  cat's  cage,  when  a  great  noise 
was  heard  outside,  and  the  two  partners  left  the 
tent  hurriedly. 

"  It's  Bob  an'  his  calf,"  said  Ben,  who  had  got 
out  first,  and  then  he  started  towards  the  new- 
comers at  full  speed. 

It  was  Bob  and  his  calf;  but  the  animal  should 
have  been  mentioned  first,  for  it  seemed  very 
much  as  if  he  were  bringing  his  master,  instead 
of  being  brought  by  him.  In  order  to  carry  his 


Mr.  Stubbss  Brother.  259 

cage  of  mice  and  lead  the  calf  at  the  same  time, 
Bob  had  tied  the  rope  that  held  this  representa- 
tive of  a  grizzly  bear  around  his  waist,  and  had 
taken  the  cage  under  his  arm.  This  plan  had 
worked  well  enough  until  just  as  they  were  en- 
tering the  field  that  led  to  the  tent,  when  Bob 
tripped  and  fell,  scaring  the  calf  so  that  he  start- 
ed at  full  speed  for  the  barn,  of  course  dragging 
the  unfortunate  Bob  with  him. 

Sometimes  on  his  face,  sometimes  on  his  back, 
screaming  for  help  whenever  his  mouth  was  up- 
permost, and  clinging  firmly  to  the  cage  of  mice, 
Bob  was  dragged  almost  to  the  door  of  the  tent, 
where  the  frightened  animal  was  finally  secured. 

"  Well,  I've  got  him  here,  an'  I  hain't  lost  a 
single  mouse,"  said  Bob,  as  he  counted  his  treas- 
ures before  even  scraping  the  dirt  from  his  face. 

Ben  and  Toby  led  the  calf  into  the  tent  after 
some  difficulty,  owing  to  the  attempts  of  Mr. 
Stubbs's  brother  to  frighten  him,  and  then  they  did 
their  best  to  separate  the  dirt  from  their  partner. 


260  Mr.  Stubbss  Brother. 

In  this  good  work  they  had  but  partially  suc- 
ceeded, when  Reddy  arrived  with  a  large  package 
of  brown  paper,  and  his  cat  without  a  tail.  This 
startling  curiosity  he  carried  in  a  bag  slung  over 
his  shoulder,  and  from  the  expression  on  his  face 
when  he  came  up  it  seemed  almost  certain  that 
the  cat's  claws  had  passed  through  the  bag  and 
into  her  master's  flesh. 

"  There,"  he  exclaimed,  with  a  sigh  of  relief,  as 
he  threw  his  live  burden  at  the  foot  of  the  post 
to  which  Mr.  Stubbs's  brother  was  tied,  "  I've 
kept  shiftin'  that  cat  from  one  shoulder  to  the 
other  ever  since  I  started,  an'  I  tellyou  she  can 
scratch  as  well  as  if  she  had  a  tail  as  long  as  the 
monkey's." 

It  surely  seemed  as  if  the  work  of  building 
the  cages  had  been  too  long  neglected,  for  here 
were  a  number  of  curiosities  without  anything  in 
which  they  could  be  exhibited,  and  the  audience 
might  be  dissatisfied  if  asked  to  pay  to  see  a  cat 
in  a -bag,  or  a  hen  under  a  bushel-basket. 


Mr.  Stubbs's  Brother.  261 

Toby  spoke  of  this,  and  Bob  assured  him  that 
it  could  easily  be  arranged  as  soon  as  all  the 
partners  should  arrive. 

"  You  see,  we've  got  to  carry  Mrs.  Simpson's 
cat  an'  kittens  home  every  night,  'cause  she  says 
the  rats  are  so  thick  she  can  spare  her  only  day- 
times, an'  we  don't  need  a  cage  for  her  till  the 
show  comes  off,"  said  Bob,  as  he  bustled  around 
again  to  find  materials. 

Mr.  Stubbs's  brother  demanded  his  master's  at- 
tention about  this  time,  owing  to  his  attempts  to 
make  friends  with  the  calf.  From  the  time  that 
this  peaceful  animal,  who  was  to  be  transformed 
into  a  grizzly  bear,  had  been  brought  into  the 
tent,  the  monkey  had  tried  in  every  possible  way 
to  get  at  him,  and  the  calf  had  shown  unmistak- 
able signs  of  a  desire  to  butt  the  monkey ;  but  the 
ropes  which  held  them  both  had  prevented  the 
meeting.  Now,  however,  Bob  detected  Mr.  Stubbs's 
brother  in  trying  to  bite  his  rope  in  two,  and  it 
was  considered  necessary  to  set  a  guard  over  him. 


262  Mr.  Stubbs's  Brother. 

Reddy  was  already  busily  engaged  in  painting 
the  posters,  despite  the  confusion  that  reigned, 
and,  as  his  work  would  keep  him  inside  the  tent, 
he  was  chosen  to  have  general  rare  of  the  ani- 
mals, a  task  which  he,  without  a  thought  of  pos- 
sible consequences,  accepted  cheerfully. 

Leander  and  Joe  came  together,  the  first  bring- 
ing his  accordion,  and  four  rabbits  in  a  cage,  and 
the  last  carrying  five  striped  squirrels  in  a  paste- 
board box. 

Leander  was  the  only  one  who  had  been 
thoughtful  enough  to  have  his  animals  ready  for 
exhibition,  and  the  cage  in  which  the  long-eared 
pets  were  confined  bore  the  inscription,  done  in 
a  very  fanciful  way  with  blue  and  red  crayons, 
"Wolves.  Keep  off!" 

This  cage  was  placed  in  the  corner  near  the 
band-stand,  where  the  musician  could  attend  to 
his  musical  work  and  have  a  watchful  eye  on  his 
pets  at  the  same  time. 

Reddy  had  been  busily  engaged  in  painting  a 


Mr.  Stubbs's  Brother.  263 

notice  to  be  hung  up  over  the  calf;  and,  as  he 
fastened  it  to  the  barn  just  over  the  spot  where 
the  animal  was  to  be  kept,  Bob  read,  with  no  small 
degree  of  pride  in  the  thought  that  he  was  the 
fortunate  possessor  of  such  a  prize, 


Then  the  artist  went  back  to  his  task  of 
painting  posters,  while  the  others  set  to  work, 
full  of  determination  to  build  the  necessary  num- 
ber of  cages  if  there  was  wood  enough  in  Uncle 
Daniel's  barn. 

They  found  timber  enough  and  to  spare  ;  but, 
as  it  was  not  exactly  the  kind  they  wanted,  Toby 
proposed  that  they  should  all  go  over  to  the 
house,  explain  the  matter  to  Aunt  Olive,  and  ask 
her  to  give  them  as  many  empty  boxes  as  she 
could  afford  to  part  with. 

As  has  been  said  before,  Aunt  Olive  looked 
upon  the  circus  scheme  with  favor,  and  when  she 


264  Mr.  Stubbss  Brother. 

was  called  upon  to  aid  in  the  way  of  furnishing 
cages  for  wild  animals,  she  gave  the  boys  full 
permission  to  take  all  the  boxes  they  could  find 
in  the  shed.  They  found  so  many  that  they 
were  able  to  select  those  best  suited  to  the  dif- 
ferent species  of  animals,  and  yet  have  quite  a 
stock  to  fall  back  upon  in  case  they  should  make 
additions  to  their  menagerie. 

Now  that  the  boys  had  found  cages  ready 
made,  and  needing  only  some  bars  or  slats  across 
the  front,  they  did  not  think  it  necessary  to  hurry. 
They  stayed  for  some  time  to  talk  of  Abner,  and 
to  test  some  doughnuts  Aunt  Olive  was  frying. 
It  is  very  likely  that  they  would  have  remained 
even  longer  than  they  did,  if  the  doughnut-frying 
had  not  been  completed,  and  the  tempting  dain- 
ties placed  upon  a  high  shelf  beyond  their  reach, 
as  a  gentle  intimation  that  they  had  had  about 
as  many  as  they  would  get  that  afternoon. 

After  leaving  the  house,  they  walked  leisurely 
towards  the  barn,  little  dreaming  what  a  state 


Mr.  Stubbss  Brother.  265 

of  confusion  their  property  was  in — until  Reddy 
rushed  out  of  the  tent,  his  jacket  torn,  his  face 
bleeding,  and  his  general  appearance  that  of  a 
boy  who  had  been  having  rather  a  hard  time 
of  it, 


CHAPTER  XIX. 

THE   SHOW  BROKE  UP. 

"WHY,  what's  the  matter?  Why  don't  you 
stay  an'  watch  the  animals  ?"  asked  Bob,  in  a  tone 
intended  to  convey  reproach  and  surprise  that 
one  of  the  projectors  of  the  enterprise  should 
desert  his  post  of  duty. 

"  Watch  the  animals  ?"  screamed  Reddy,  in  a 
rage;  "you  go  an'  watch  'em  awhile  instead  of 
eatin'  doughnuts,  an'  see  how  you  like  it.  Mr. 
Stubbs's  brother  picked  a  hole  in  the  bag  so  my 
cat  got  out,  an'  she  jumped  on  the  calf,  an'  he 
tore  'round  awful  till  he  let  the  hen  an'  Mrs. 
Simpson's  cat  loose,  an'  I  got  knocked  down  an' 
scratched,  an'  the  whole  show's  broke  up." 

Reddy  sat  down  on  the  ground,  and  wiped  the 


Mr.  Stubbss  Brother.  267 

blood  from  his  face  after  he  had  imparted  the 
painful  news ;  and  all  the  party  started  for  the 
tent  as  rapidly  as  possible. 

It  was  a  scene  of  ruin  which  they  looked  in 
upon  after  they  had  pulled  aside  Mr.  Mansfield's 
flag,  and  one  well  calculated  to  discourage  ama- 
teur circus  proprietors. 

Mr.  Stubbs's  brother  was  seated  amid  Reddy's 
paper  and  paint,  holding  the  crowing  hen  by  the 
head  while  he  picked  her  wing-feathers  out  one 
by  one.  Mrs.  Simpson's  cat  and  kittens  each  had 
one  of  Bob's  mice  in  its  mouth,  while  Reddy's 
cat  was  chasing  one  of  the  squirrels  with  a  mur- 
derous purpose.  The  calf  was  no  longer  an  in- 
mate of  the  tent ;  but  a  large  rent  in  the  canvas 
showed  that  he  had  opened  a  door  for  himself 
when  the  cat  scratched  him ;  and  afar  in  the  dis- 
tance he  could  be  seen,  head  down  and  tail  up, 
as  if  fleeing  from  everything  that  looked  like  a 
circus. 

The  destruction  was  as  complete  as  it  could 


268  Mr.  Stubbss  Brother. 

well  have  been  made  in  so  short  a  time,  and  the 
partners  were,  quite  naturally,  discouraged.  Toby 
retained  sufficient  presence  of  mind,  amid  the  trou- 
ble, to  rescue  the  crowing  hen  from  the  murderous 
clutches  of  Mr.  Stubbs's  brother,  and  the  mon- 
key scampered  up  the  tent-pole,  brandishing  two 
or  three  of  poor  biddy's  best  and  longest  wing- 
feathers,  while  he  screamed  with  satisfaction  that 
he  had  accomplished  at  least  a  portion  of  the 
work  of  stripping  the  fowl. 

"  The  show's  broke  up,  an'  that's  all  there's  to 
it,"  said  Bob,  sorrowfully,  as  he  gazed  alternately 
at  the  hole  in  the  canvas  and  his  rapidly  van- 
ishing calf. 

"  Are  the  squirrels  all  gone  ?"  asked  Joe,  driv- 
ing the  cat  from  her  intended  prey  long  enough 
to  allow  Master  Bushy-tail  to  gain  a  refuge  under 
the  barn. 

"  Every  one,"  replied  K-eddy.  "  The  calf  kicked 
the  box  over  when  he  come  towards  me,  an'  it 
looked  as  if  there  was  as  many  as  a  hundred  come 


TOBY  RESCUES  THE  CROWING  HEN  FROM  MR.   STUBBS's  BROTHER. 


Mr.  Stubbss  Brother.  271 

out  jest  as  soon  as  the  cover  was  off.  I  could 
have  caught  one  or  two;  but  somehow  Mrs. 
Simpson's  cat  got  out  of  the  basket  jest  then,  an' 
she  flew  right  on  to  my  face." 

The  marks  on  Reddy's  cheeks  and  nose  told 
most  eloquently  with  what  force  the  cat  "  flew," 
and  search  was  at  once  made  for  that  pet  of  the 
Simpson  family.  She,  with  her  kittens,  had  taken 
refuge  under  the  barn  as  soon  as  the  boys  enter- 
ed, and  thus  another  trouble  was  added  to  the 
load  the  circus  managers  had  to  bear,  for  that  cat 
must  be  returned  to  her  mistress  by  night,  or 
trouble  might  come  of  it. 

The  mice  were  entirely  consumed,  two  tails 
alone  remaining  of  what  would  have  been  shown 
to  the  good  people  of  Guilford  as  strange  animals 
from  some  far-off  country. 

The  squirrels  were  gone,  the  calf  had  fled,  the 
hen  was  in  a  thoroughly  battered  condition,  and 
aothing  remained  of  all  that  vast  and  wonderful 
collection  of  animals  except  Mr.  Stubbs's  brother, 


272  Mr.  Stubbss  Brother. 

and  the  rabbits,  protected  by  the  cage  which 
their  master's  thoughtfulness  had  provided. 

"  I  guess  I'll  take  the  rabbits  home,"  said  Le- 
ander,  as  he  lifted  the  box  to  his  shoulder.  "  It 
wouldn't  do  to  have  only  them  for  animals,  an'  it 
hain't  very  certain  how  long  they'll  stay  alive 
while  that  monkey's  'round." 

"He's  broke  up  the  whole  show,  that's  what 
he's  done,"  and  Ben  shook  his  fist  at  Mr.  Stubbs's 
brother,  while  he  tried  to  soothe  his  half-plucked 
hen. 

"  What  a/re  we  goin'  to  do  ?"  asked  Toby,  al- 
most in  despair. 

"  I  know  what  I'm  goin'  to  do,"  said  Ben,  as  he 
again  placed  the  hen  under  the  basket ;  "  I'm  goin' 
to  crawl  under  the  barn  an'  try  to  catch  that  cat, 
an'  then  I'm  goin'  home  with  my  hen." 

It  seemed  to  be  the  desire  of  all  the  partners  to 
get  home  with  what  remained  of  their  pets,  and 
as  Ben  went  under  the  barn  on  his  hands  and 
knees,  Leander  started  off  with  his  rabbits,  Bob 


Mr.  Stubbss  Brother.  273 

went  to  look  for  his  calf,  Reddy  gathered  up  his 
bundle  of  paper,  and  Joe  seized  his  pasteboard 
box,  all  going  away  where  they  could  think  over 
the  ruin  in  solitude. 

But  high  up  on  the  post  the  cause  of  all  this 
trouble  chattered  and  scolded,  while  his  master 
sat  on  the  ground,  looking  at  him  as  if  he  won- 
dered whether  or  not  it  would  ever  be  possible 
to  reform  such  a  monkey. 


CHAPTER  XX. 

ABNER'S   DEATH. 

AFTER  Toby  was  left  alone  in  the  tent,  he  re- 
mained for  some  time  looking  at  the  triumphant 
monkey,  and  listening  to  Ben's  attempts  to  crawl 
around  under  the  barn  as  fast  as  the  cat  could, 
when  suddenly,  as  if  such  a  thought  had  not  oc- 
curred to  him  before,  he  cried  out : 

"Don't  you  want  me  to  come  an'  help  you, 
Ben?" 

"  You  keep  that  monkey  back,  that's  all  the 
helpin'  I  want,"  Ben  replied,  almost  sharply,  and 
then  the  sounds  indicated  that  the  cat  had  sud- 
denly changed  her  position  to  one  farther  under 
the  barn,  while  the  boy  was  trying  to  frighten 
her  out. 


Mr.  Stubbs's  Brother.  275 

"  Give  it  up,  Ben,"  shouted  Toby,  after  waiting 
some  time  longer,  and  not  seeing  any  sign  of  suc- 
cess on  the  part  of  his  friend.  "  If  you  come  up 
here  about  dark  you'll  have  a  chance  to  catch  her, 
for  she'll  have  to  come  out  for  something  to  eat." 

"  You  take  the  monkey  into  the  house,  an'  I'll 
get  along  all  right,"  was  the  almost  savage  reply. 
"She  smells  him,  an'  jest  as  long  as  he's  there 
she'll  stay  under  here." 

It  seemed  to  Toby  almost  cruel  to  desert  his 
friend  and  partner  just  at  a  time  when  he  needed 
assistance ;  but  he  could  do  no  less  than  go  away, 
since  he  had  been  urged  so  peremptorily  to  do  so, 
and,  catching  his  pet  without  much  difficulty,  he 
earned  Mr.  Stubbs's  brother  away  from  the  scene 
of  the  ruin  he  had  caused. 

Ben's  remark,  that  the  monkey  had  "broke 
the  show  all  up,"  seemed  to  be  very  near  the 
truth ;  for  the  boys  would  not  think  of  going  on 
with  so  small  a  number  of  animals ;  and,  even  if 
they  decided  to  do  without  the  menagerie,  Bob's 


276  Mr.  Stubbss  Brother. 

calf  had  wrecked  one  side  of  the  tent  so  com- 
pletely that  that  particular  piece  of  canvas  was 
past  mending. 

"I  don't  know  what  we'll  do,"  said  Toby, 
mournfully,  after  he  had  finished  telling  the  story 
to  Aunt  Olive.  "The  boys  act  as  if  they  blamed 
me,  because  Mr.  Stubbs's  brother  is  so  bad,  and 
Joe's  squirrels  an'  Bob's  mice  are  all  gone.  Ben's 
hen  don't  look  as  if  she'd  ever  'mount  to  much, 
an'  it  don't  seem  to  me  that  he  can  get  Mrs. 
Simpson's  cat  an'  every  one  of  the  kittens  out 
from  under  the  barn." 

"  Now  don't  go  to  worry  in'  about  that,  Toby," 
said  Aunt  Olive,  as  she  patted  him  on  the  head, 
and  gave  him  a  large  piece  of  cake  at  the  same 
time.  "  You  can  get  a  dozen  cats  for  Mrs.  Simp- 
son if  she  wants  'em ;  and  as  for  mice,  you  tell  Bob 
to  set  his  trap  out  in  the  granary  two  or  three 
times,  an'  he'll  have  as  many  as  he  can  take  care 
of.  I'm  glad  the  squirrels  did  get  away,  for  it 
seems  such  a  sin  to  shut  them  up  in  a  cage  when 
they're  so  happy  in  the  woods." 


Mr.  Stubbss  Brother.  277 

Toby  was  cheered  by  the  very,  philosophical 
view  that  Aunt  Olive  took  of  the  affair,  and 
came  to  the  conclusion  that  matters  were  not 
more  than  half  so  bad  as  they  might  have  been. 

"You  be  careful  that  your  monkey  don't  get 
out  again,  an'  go  to  cuttin'  up  as  he  did  last  night, 
for  I  shall  get  provoked  with  him  if  he  hurts  my 
ducks  any  more,"  and,  with  this  bit  of  advice, 
Aunt  Olive  went  up-stairs  to  see  Abner. 

Toby  went  out  to  the  shed  to  assure  himself 
that  Mr.  Stubbs's  brother  was  tied  so  that  he 
could  not  escape,  and  while  he  was  there  Uncle 
Daniel  came  in  with  an  armful  of  strips  of 
board. 

"  There,  Toby  boy,"  he  said,  as  he  laid  them  on 
the  floor,  and  looked  around  for  the  hammer  and 
nails,  "  I'm  going  to  build  a  pen  for  your  monkey 
right  up  here  in  one  corner,  so  that  we  sha'n't  be 
called  up  again  in  the  night  by  a  false  alarm  of 
burglars.  Besides,  it's  almost  time  for  school  to 
begin  again,  an'  I'm  'most  too  old  to  commence 


278  Mr.  Stubbs's  Brother. 

chasing  monkeys  around  the  country  in  case  he 
gets  out  while  you're  away." 

Had  it  been  suggested  the  day  before  that  Mr. 
Stubbs's  brother  was  to  be  shut  up  in  a  cage, 
Toby  would  have  thought  it  a  very  great  hard- 
ship for  his  pet  to  endure ;  but  the  experience  he 
had  had  in  the  last  twenty-four  hours  convinced 
him  that  the  imprisonment  was  for  the  best. 

He  helped  Uncle  Daniel  in  his  labor  to  such 
purpose  that,  when  it  was  time  for  him  to  go  to 
the  pasture,  the  cage  was  built,  and  Mr.  Stubbs's 
brother  was  in  it,  looking  as  if  he  considered  him- 
self a  thoroughly  abused  monkey,  because  he  was 
not  allowed  to  play  just  such  pranks  as  had 
roused  the  household  as  well  as  broken  up  the 
circus  scheme. 

On  his  way  to  the  pasture,  Toby  met  Joe,  and 
the  two  had  a  long  talk  about  the  disaster  of  the 
afternoon.  Joe  believed  that  the  enterprise  must 
be  abandoned — for  that  summer  at  least — as  it 
would  take  them  some  time  to  repair  the  damage 


Mr.  Stubbs's  Brother.  279 

done,  and  his  short  experience  in  the  business 
caused  him  to  believe  that  they  could  hardly  hope 
to  compete  with  real  circuses  until  they  had  more 
material  with  which  to  work. 

Joe  promised  to  see  the  other  partners  that 
evening  or  the  next  morning ;  and,  if  they  were  of 
the  same  opinion,  the  tent  should  be  taken  down 
and  returned  to  its  owner. 

"  Perhaps  we  can  fix  it  all  right  next  year,  an' 
then  Abner  will  be  'round  to  help,"  said  Toby, 
as  he  parted  with  Joe  that  night ;  and  thus  was 
the  circus  project  ended  very  sensibly,  for  the 
chances  were  that  it  would  have  been  a  failure 
if  they  had  attempted  to  give  their  exhibition. 

During  that  afternoon  Toby  had  worried  less 
about  Abner  than  on  any  day  since  he  had  been 
sick;  he  had  felt  that  his  friend's  recovery  was 
certain,  and  a  load  was  lifted  from  his  shoulders 
when  he  and  Joe  had  decided  regarding  the  cir- 
cus ;  for,  that  out  of  the  way,  he  could  devote  all 
his  attention  to  his  sick  friend.  Surely,  with  the 


280  Mr.  Stubbs's  Brother. 

ponies  and  the  monkey  they  could  have  a  great 
deal  of  sport  during  the  two  weeks  that  yet  re- 
mained before  school  would  begin,  and  Toby  felt 
thoroughly  happy. 

But  his  happiness  was  changed  to  alarm  very 
soon  after  he  entered  the  house,  for  the  doctor 
was  there  again,  and,  from  the  look  on  the  faces 
of  Uncle  Daniel  and  Aunt  Olive,  he  knew  Abner 
must  be  worse. 

"  What  is  it, Uncle  Dan'l?  is  Abner  any  sicker?" 
he  asked,  with  quivering  lip,  as  he  looked  up  at 
the  wrinkled  face  that  ever  wore  a  kindly  look 
for  him. 

Uncle  Daniel  laid  his  hand  affectionately  on  the 
head  of  the  boy,  whom  he  had  cared  for  with  the 
tenderness  of  a  father  since  the  day  he  repented 
and  asked  forgiveness  for  having  run  away,  and 
his  voice  trembled  as  he  said : 

"  It  is  very  likely  that  the  good  God  will  take 
the  crippled  boy  to  Himself  to-night,  Toby,  and 
there  in  the  heavenly  mansions  will  he  find  relief 


Mr.  Stubbss  Brother.  283 

from  all  his  pain  and  infirmities.  Then  the  poor- 
farm  boy  will  no  longer  be  an  orphan  or  deform- 
ed, but,  with  his  Almighty  Father,  will  enter  into 
such  joys  as  we  can  have  no  conception  of." 

"Oh,  Uncle  Dan'l!  must  Abner  really  die?" 
cried  Toby,  while  the  great  tears  chased  each 
other  down  his  cheeks,  and  he  hid  his  face  on 
Uncle  Daniel's  knee. 

"  He  will  die  here,  Toby  boy,  but  it  is  simply 
an  awakening  into  a  perfect,  glorious  life,  to  which 
I  pray  that  both  you  and  I  may  be  prepared  to 
go  when  our  Father  calls  us." 

For  some  time  there  was  silence  in  the  room, 
broken  only  by  Toby's  sobs;  and,  while  Uncle 
Daniel  stroked  the  weeping  boy's  head,  the  great 
white-winged  messenger  of  God  came  into  the 
chamber  above,  bearing  away  with  him  the  spirit 
of  the  poor-farm  boy. 

THE    END 


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